Why it works: Barley and pepper work together. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 897 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Barley 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
Rinse the barley under cold water.
In a pot, combine barley and water, using about 4 cups of water for every cup of barley.
Cook
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until barley is tender, about 30-40 minutes.
Add vegetables if desired and cook until they are tender.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve
Serve hot.
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.
-
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
- Barley
- Provides the main bulk and chewy texture as it absorbs water and softens during simmering.
The step that matters
Simmering until the barley is tender. Barley needs a long, gentle simmer with enough water to soften fully. Stopping early leaves the grains firm and chewy, while too vigorous a boil can break them down and cloud the broth.
“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 barley soup recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 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.