Why it works: Barley and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,166 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Pea-soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Soak the peas in 3 pints of cold water for 12 hours.
Simmer the meat in 5 pints of water for 3 hours.
Make the soup
Place the soaked peas in a bag and boil with the meat for 1 hour.
Press the contents of the bag into the broth, discarding the skins.
Add salt, pepper, onions, and barley, then boil for 1 hour, adding water as needed to maintain 1 gallon.
For added nutrition, use water from boiled bones, fresh meat, or vegetables.
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.
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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Barley + oniontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,166 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Peas + barleytop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together187 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Peas + oniontop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,460 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Barley + peppertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together897 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Peas
- Break down into the thick body of the soup as they cook and release starch.
- Meat
- Flavors the broth and adds richness as it simmers.
- Pot barley
- Adds body and a chewy texture to the soup as it cooks.
- Onions
- Add savory sweetness and aroma to the broth.
The step that matters
Pressing the peas through the bag. Pressing the softened peas into the broth thickens it by releasing starch from the cooked peas. Discarding the skins keeps the texture smooth, since skins do not break down and would stay gritty.
Swap the peas
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, barley, onion, sugar, pepper):
- Beansfits better
- Sesamefits better
- Chestnutfits better
- Peasthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against meat, barley, onion, sugar, 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.
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