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 ↓
Baked Beans
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Soak and parboil
Soak the beans overnight in cold water, then drain the water.
Cover with fresh water, then drain again.
Place the beans in a pot with enough fresh water to cover, and add the baking soda.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then pour off the boiling water.
Rinse the beans in a colander.
Assemble
Lay a thin slice of salt pork in the bottom of a bean pot, then place the whole onion on top of the pork.
Add the beans to the pot.
Score the rind of the salt pork, then press the rind into the beans, leaving the rind exposed.
Add the salt and ground mustard, pour in the molasses, then cover with cold water.
Bake and finish
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) for 8 to 10 hours.
As the water boils off, add more boiling water.
Do not add water within an hour of serving.
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.
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).
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Onion + mustardtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,259 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beans + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,242 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pork + oniontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,214 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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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
- Small white beans
- Starches and proteins give the beans body that holds its shape through long baking.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness and dark colour, and its sugars deepen in colour during the long bake.
- Salt pork
- Its fat and savoury flavour slowly render into the beans during baking.
- Baking soda
- Raises the alkalinity of the soaking water, helping the bean skins soften.
The step that matters
Topping up with boiling water. The beans must stay submerged during the long, slow bake so they cook evenly and do not dry out or scorch. Adding boiling water keeps the pot at cooking heat, whereas cold water would chill it and slow the cooking.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beans, pork, mustard, molasses):
- Lettucefits better
- Welsh onionfits better
- Broccolifits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beans, pork, mustard, molasses. 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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