Why it works: Celery and carrot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 10,172 recipes mention both. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: milk, soy, fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Prepare the beans
Put the beans in a saucepan, cover with fresh water and bring to a boil, then boil the beans for 10 minutes.
Drain the beans and set aside.
Make the soup
Melt the butter in a dutch oven or very large saucepan.
Cook the onion, garlic, celery, and carrot, covered, until softened.
Add the beans, ham, ham bone, water, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, lemon juice, pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste.
Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 2 hours or until the beans are very soft.
Strain and finish
Discard the ham bone.
Scoop out the chunks of ham and reserve.
Press the soup through a fine sieve and return it to the saucepan.
Discard the solids in the sieve.
Cut the reserved ham into small dice and add to the soup.
Reheat the soup, taste, and adjust the seasonings.
Serve hot, sprinkled with a little parsley.
This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Celery + carrottop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together10,172 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together29,030 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
-
Onion + carrottop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together21,599 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + celerytop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together18,506 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Kidney beans + oniontop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,050 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
- Red kidney beans
- Form the body of the soup and thicken it as they break down during simmering.
- Smoked ham
- Adds savory, smoky flavor that carries through the whole pot of soup.
- Butter
- Carries the aromatics and adds richness as the onion, garlic, celery and carrot soften.
- Onion
- Builds a sweet, savory flavor base as it softens in the butter.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavor of the rich, starchy soup.
The step that matters
Simmer until the beans are very soft. Kidney beans must be fully tender before straining, since undercooked beans stay grainy and will not purée smoothly through the sieve.
Flavor stand-ins for the kidney beans
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, onion, garlic, celery, carrot, ham, sauce):
- Beansbetter flavor fit
- Peanutbetter flavor fit
- Peasbetter flavor fit
- Kidney beansthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, onion, garlic, celery, carrot, ham, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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.
You might also like
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
IllustrationThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.