Why it works: Peas and beef match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,044 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: wheat, tree nuts (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Prepare the peas
Wash the split peas thoroughly and soak them overnight.
Boil the soaked peas with the baking soda in just enough water to mash them.
Make the soup
Add the mashed peas to 3 to 4 quarts of beef broth and simmer gently for 1 hour.
Remove any scum.
Pass the mixture through a sieve and reheat as needed.
Season with salt and cayenne or black pepper to taste.
Optionally, add sliced and stewed celery for extra flavor.
Serve
Serve with fried or toasted bread.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Peas + beeftop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,044 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + celerytop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together16,001 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Beef + peppertop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + breadtop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,031 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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Beef + celerytop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together4,369 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
- Split peas
- Form the body of the soup, thickening it as they break down when cooked and mashed.
- Baking soda
- Raises the pH of the peas, helping them soften and break down quickly during boiling.
- Beef broth
- Supplies the liquid base and the main savory flavor of the soup.
The step that matters
Boil the peas with the baking soda until they mash. The peas must be soft enough to mash fully; if they are undercooked, the sieved soup will be grainy and thin. Baking soda raises the pH, which speeds softening, but too much can give a soapy taste.
“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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