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 ↓
Peas, Tinned
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the peas
Place the tin in cold water before opening.
Bring the water to a boil and let it boil for five minutes.
Cut open the tin at the top and pour out the liquid.
Finish and serve
Serve the peas with a few sprigs of fresh mint that have been boiled for 2-3 minutes.
Add icing sugar, coarse sea salt, and butter.
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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Peas + minttop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,137 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Peas + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,887 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Butter + minttop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,559 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Peas + sugartop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,928 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Peas
- Form the bulk of the dish and supply its soft, tender texture and mild flavour.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a richer mouthfeel and a smooth coating on the peas.
- Icing sugar
- Adds a little sweetness that softens the peas' green, vegetal taste.
Swap the mint
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (peas, sugar, butter):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Mintthe original
- Gingerfits about as well
- Tarragonfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against peas, sugar, butter. 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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