Why it works: Carrot and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓
Pea Soup
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Rinse the dried peas and soak them in water overnight.
Cook
In a pot, combine soaked peas, water, onion, carrots, and celery.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour until peas are tender.
Season with salt and pepper to taste before 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.
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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Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,173 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,555 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,518 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Dried peas
- Form the body of the soup and thicken it as they break down while simmering.
- Onion
- Adds savory depth and aroma as it softens in the broth.
- Carrots
- Contribute gentle sweetness and body to the soup.
- Celery
- Adds aromatic, savory flavor to the broth.
The step that matters
Simmering until the peas are tender. Dried peas need a long, gentle simmer to soften fully. Stopping early leaves them firm and grainy, and a hard boil can break the pot contents apart unevenly.
Swap the peas
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, carrot, celery, pepper):
- Beansfits better
- Black-eyed peafits better
- Lentilsfits better
- Peasthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against onion, carrot, celery, 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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