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 ↓
Pork and Beans
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a very slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare and cook the beans
Put the beans, onion, salt pork, pepper, and salt in a pot.
Let it sit for an hour or more to heat slowly.
If soaked overnight, bring to a boil more quickly.
Boil very slowly, adding ½ cup of cold water occasionally.
Cook until the beans are tender, about 3 to 6 hours.
Bake and serve
Drain the liquid into a bowl and place the beans in a bake-dish.
Add the molasses and fill the dish to the level of the beans with the reserved liquid.
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) for about 2 hours until browned and creamy.
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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Onion + porktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,214 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beans + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,733 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 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
- White beans
- Form the main body of the dish and become creamy as they cook through.
- Salt pork
- Adds fat and savoury depth that flavours the beans and cooking liquid.
- Onion
- Contributes aroma and mild sweetness as it softens during the long cook.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness and dark colour, helping the surface brown in the oven.
The step that matters
Boil very slowly. Vigorous boiling can split the bean skins and break the beans apart, leaving a mushy result. A gentle simmer keeps them whole and tender, and adding cold water helps control the heat.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beans, pork, pepper, molasses):
- Capsicumfits better
- Tomatofits better
- Potatofits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beans, pork, pepper, molasses. 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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