Why it works: Peas and mint are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,137 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
Green Pease 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.
In a pot, bring the stock to a boil.
Add the green peas and chopped onion.
Simmer until the peas are tender, about 15 minutes.
Stir in the chopped mint, salt, and pepper.
Blend the soup until smooth and serve hot.
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.
-
Peas + minttop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,137 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Mint + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,372 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Peas + oniontop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,460 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Peas + peppertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,331 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
- Green peas
- Provide the main body, sweetness and vegetal flavour of the soup.
- Onion
- Adds savoury depth and aromatic sweetness as it softens in the stock.
- Stock
- Forms the liquid base that cooks the peas and onion and carries the flavour.
- Fresh mint
- Adds a bright, aromatic herbal note that lifts the sweetness of the peas.
The step that matters
Simmer until the peas are tender. Peas that are undercooked stay starchy and grainy, so the blended soup will be less smooth. Cooking them fully softens the cell walls, letting the blend turn silky and the flavour mellow.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (peas, mint, pepper):
- Cucumberfits better
- Lettucefits better
- Carrotfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against peas, mint, 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.
You might also like
Green Peas229 recipes
Green Peas Soup35 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 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.