Why it works: Chicken and pork match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,417 recipes. Both carry 2-furfurylthiol, which smells coffee, roasted. The science ↓
The Easiest and Best Tasting Ham and Bean Soup on the Planet!
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Ensure small diced potatoes and diced smoked pork butt are the same size.
Make the soup
Sauté leeks in extra virgin olive oil.
Add diced smoked pork butt once leeks are translucent.
Add ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes.
Add 2 cans of small white beans.
Add chicken stock.
Bring to rapid boil.
Add the 2 cups of small diced potatoes.
Bring back to rapid boil.
Remove from heat and cover.
Leave covered for one hour.
Uncover and stir.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Pork | 100g cooked | 242 |
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Potato | 1 medium (173g) baked | 161 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Chili | 1 tsp (2.7g) | 8 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Bean | 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.
-
Chicken + porktop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,417 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
-
Leek + beanstop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together51 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Beans + olivetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,470 recipes
Shared aroma: trans,trans-2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
-
Potato + beanstop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together655 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
-
Potato + porktop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,668 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Smoked pork butt
- Adds smoky, savory flavor and meaty body to the broth.
- White beans
- Add creamy texture and body, thickening the soup as they break down.
- Potatoes
- Release starch as they cook, giving the soup a thicker, heartier body.
- Leeks
- Sweeten and build a mild onion-like base when sautéed slowly until translucent.
- Chicken stock
- Forms the liquid base that carries and blends the other ingredients.
The step that matters
Keeping the potatoes and pork the same size. Uniform pieces cook at the same rate, so small potatoes do not turn mushy while larger pork pieces stay tough or undercooked.
Swap the leek
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, potato, pork, pepper, beans, olive):
- Tomatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Leekthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, potato, pork, pepper, beans, olive. 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.
You might also like
Chicken Broth257 recipes
Potato Croquettes255 recipes
Chicken Soup156 recipes
Pork Cake107 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.