Why it works: Pepper and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Pea Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Soak the split peas in cold water overnight.
Drain the peas and add 6 quarts of fresh cold water to a pot.
Add the cleaned salt pork to the pot and bring to a gentle boil.
Cook and strain
Cover and boil for several hours, stirring occasionally to scrape the peas from the sides.
Strain the soup through a colander, mashing the peas through.
Return the soup to the pot and boil until ready to serve.
Season
Season with pepper and celery seed or celery salt to taste.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Pepper + celerytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Peas + celerytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,832 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Peas + porktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,589 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Peas + peppertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,331 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pork + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,121 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Split peas
- Break down during long simmering to thicken the soup and give it body.
- Salt pork
- Adds fat and savory, smoky flavor to the broth as it simmers.
The step that matters
Cover and boil for several hours, stirring to scrape the sides. Peas settle and stick to the bottom and sides of the pot, where they can scorch. Stirring keeps them dispersed so they cook evenly and the soup thickens smoothly.
Swap the peas
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, pepper, celery):
- Beansfits better
- Black-eyed peafits better
- Walnutfits better
- Peasthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, pepper, celery. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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