Why it works: Potato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat.
Add chopped onion and sauté until translucent.
Add mixed vegetables and sauté for 5 minutes.
Simmer and serve
Pour in vegetable broth and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper before serving.
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.
-
Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Carrot + potatotop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,107 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
-
Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,555 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Potato + olivetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,458 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mixed vegetables
- Provide the main body and bulk of the soup, softening as they cook in the broth.
- Onion
- Adds savory sweetness and aroma as it softens in the hot oil.
- Vegetable broth
- Supplies the liquid that cooks the vegetables and forms the soup base.
- Olive oil
- Carries heat evenly to the onion and vegetables and helps them brown lightly.
The step that matters
Sautéing the onion until translucent. Cooking the onion gently in oil softens its sharp compounds and draws out sweetness. Rushing this on high heat can scorch it and leave a bitter flavour in the whole soup.
Swap the peas
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (carrot, potato, onion, olive, pepper):
- Beansfits better
- Chickpeafits better
- Sesamefits better
- Peasthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against carrot, potato, onion, olive, pepper. 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.
More vegetable soup recipes
You might also like
Potato Croquettes255 recipes
Green Peas229 recipes
Carrot Soup134 recipes
Potato Rolls78 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.