Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Puree of Peas
Ingredients
Directions
Boil the shelled peas in sufficient boiling water until tender.
Drain the peas and press them through a puree sieve.
Season with coarse sea salt and black pepper to taste.
Add 1 tablespoon of butter and mix well.
If the puree is too dry, add a little milk or cream to achieve desired 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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Peas + peppertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,331 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Peas + milktop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,309 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Peas + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,887 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Peas
- Form the main body of the puree, giving its flavor and smooth texture once pressed.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a silkier mouthfeel in the finished puree.
- Milk or cream
- Adds moisture to loosen a dry puree and adjust its consistency.
The step that matters
Pressing the cooked peas through a sieve. Peas must be fully tender before pressing, since firm skins and pieces will not break down into a smooth puree. Draining well first keeps excess water from thinning the result.
Swap the peas
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, butter, milk):
- Cocoafits better
- Walnutfits better
- Lima beansfits about as well
- Peasthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, butter, milk. 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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