Why it works: Peas and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,460 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Dried Pea Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Take one quart of split peas, or Lima beans, which are better; put them in three quarts of very soft water with three onions chopped up, pepper and salt.
Boil them two hours.
Mash them well and pass them through a sieve.
Finish the soup
Return the liquid into the pot, thicken it with a large piece of butter and flour, put in some slices of nice salt pork, and a large tablespoonful of celery seed pounded.
Boil it till the pork is done, and serve it up.
Serve
Have some toasted bread cut into dice and fried in butter, which must be put in the tureen before you pour in the soup.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Pea | 1/2 cup (72g) | 62 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| 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.
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. See the original page.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
Peas + oniontop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,460 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Butter + oniontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together42,912 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Peas + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,887 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Split peas
- Break down when boiled and mashed, giving the soup its body and thickness.
- Butter
- Enriches the soup and, with flour, helps thicken it and add richness.
- Flour (in the method)
- Combined with butter, it thickens the strained liquid into a smoother body.
- Salt pork (in the method)
- Adds savory, fatty flavor as it cooks in the soup.
- Onions
- Add aromatic sweetness and depth as they simmer with the peas.
The step that matters
Mash and sieve the cooked peas. Mashing and straining break the softened peas into a smooth purée. Skipping this or straining too little leaves a grainy texture instead of a silky soup.
Swap the peas
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, onion):
- Sesamefits better
- Peanutfits better
- Almondfits better
- Peasthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, onion. 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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