Why it works: Beans and pork are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,000 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Pork and Beans
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a warm oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure. The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the beans
Soak the beans overnight in plenty of water.
Boil the beans until they are soft but not broken.
Bake and serve
Place the salt pork in a pudding dish and surround it with the beans.
Cover the dish tightly and bake in a warm oven at 300°F (150°C) for 6 hours.
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 + 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
- Dried beans
- Form the main body of the dish, becoming tender and creamy during long, slow cooking.
- Salt pork
- Adds fat and savory flavor that seasons the beans as it cooks slowly beside them.
The step that matters
Boil the beans until soft but not broken. Beans must be cooked enough to become tender before baking, since the long oven time may not fully soften them. Overcooking, however, makes them split and turn mushy, so stop once they are tender but still hold their shape.
“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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