Why it works: Peas and pork are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,589 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Pea Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Soak and boil the peas
Soak the dry peas overnight in a warm place in 1 quart of water.
The next morning, boil the peas for 1 hour, adding the baking soda a few minutes before removing from heat.
Drain the peas and place them in fresh water, then boil until tender, about 3 to 4 hours.
Finish the soup
Add the salt pork and boil until tender, then remove it from the soup.
Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
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.
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.
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Peas + porktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,589 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Peas + peppertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,331 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pork + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,121 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
- Dry peas
- Form the body of the soup as they soften and break down during long simmering.
- Baking soda
- Raises the pot's alkalinity, helping the peas soften faster during cooking.
- Salt pork
- Adds savory, meaty flavor and fat to the broth as it cooks.
The step that matters
Boiling the peas until tender. Dry peas need a long, steady simmer to soften fully. Cutting the cooking short leaves them firm and gives the soup a grainy texture, so keep testing until they are truly tender.
Swap the peas
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, pepper):
- Black-eyed peafits better
- Beansfits better
- Soybeanfits better
- Peasthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, pepper. 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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