Why it works: Beans and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 852 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Slab Bacon Baked Beans
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the beans
Soak beans overnight in 6 cups cold water.
Drain and put into a large cooking pot.
Add water to cover beans, about 6 cups.
Bring to a boil, cover, and cook at a slow boil for 30 minutes.
Drain, reserving the cooking water.
Combine beans with chopped onions.
Layer and bake
Spoon half of the mixture into the bottom of a 2½ to 3 quart bean pot.
Score slab bacon, cut in half, and place one piece on top of the beans.
Spoon the remaining beans into the pot.
Mix maple syrup, salt, and dry mustard with 1 cup of bean cooking water; pour over the beans. Add more bean cooking water if needed to cover the beans.
Place the remaining slab bacon on top.
Cover and bake at 325°F for 6 hours. Add more bean cooking liquid if needed. Uncover for the last hour.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 6 of 8 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Pork | 100g cooked | 242 |
| Maple Syrup | 1 tbsp (20ml) | 52 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Bacon | 1 slice cooked (8g) | 43 |
| Mustard | 1 tsp (5g) yellow | 3 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Bean | not in our table | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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 their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Beans + mustardtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together852 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + mustardtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,259 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Beans + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,242 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + porktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,214 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Beans + porktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,000 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
- Dried navy or yellow eye beans
- Form the bulk of the dish, becoming tender and creamy during the long slow cook.
- Pure maple syrup
- Adds sweetness and helps the sauce thicken and darken as it bakes.
- Slab bacon or salt pork
- Adds savory fat and smoky flavor that seasons the beans as it renders.
- Chopped onion
- Adds aromatic flavor that mellows and sweetens during baking.
The step that matters
Keeping the beans covered with liquid during the long bake. Beans that dry out at the surface can toughen and scorch, so adding reserved cooking water as needed keeps them moist and evenly tender.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beans, pork, maple syrup, mustard):
- Lettucefits better
- Sweet potatofits better
- Welsh onionfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beans, pork, maple syrup, mustard. 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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