Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Green-Pea 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.
In a pot, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add the chopped onion and sauté until translucent.
Stir in the green peas and vegetable broth.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Blend the mixture until smooth.
Stir in the heavy cream and season with salt and pepper.
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.
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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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Onion + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together42,912 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Peas + peppertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,331 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
- Green peas
- Provide the main body and flavour of the soup.
- Vegetable broth
- Supplies the liquid that simmers the peas and sets the soup's consistency.
- Onion
- Adds savoury sweetness as it softens in the butter.
- Butter
- Carries the onion's flavour and adds richness.
- Heavy cream
- Adds fat for a smoother, silkier texture and a rounder finish.
The step that matters
Blend the mixture until smooth. Blending while the peas are fully cooked breaks down their cell walls, giving a smooth texture. Under-cooked peas would leave the soup grainy and starchy.
Swap the peas
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, butter, pepper, cream):
- Beansfits better
- Sesamefits better
- Almondfits better
- Peasthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against onion, butter, pepper, cream. 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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