Why it works: Beans and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,242 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Bean Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Soak the beans in water overnight.
Cook
In a pot, combine the soaked beans, salt pork, cold water, onion, and salt.
Cover and boil for 4 to 5 hours until the beans are tender.
Finish
Rub the mixture through a colander to achieve a smooth consistency.
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 + 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
- Beans
- Their starch and protein thicken the broth and form the soup's body once softened.
- Salt pork
- Its fat and salt carry savoury flavour into the broth as it cooks.
- Onion
- Softens during simmering and adds a mild, savoury aroma to the soup.
The step that matters
Boil until the beans are fully tender. Dried beans need a long, hydrated simmer so their starch gelatinises and their skins soften. Stopping early leaves firm beans that will not press through smoothly.
Swap the beans
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, onion):
- Sesamefits better
- Beansthe original
- Soybeanfits about as well
- Peanutfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, 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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