Why it works: Peas and pork are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,589 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Pea Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Pick over and wash the split peas.
Soak the peas in 1 pint of water in the morning.
Cook
Three hours before dinner, put the soaked peas in a pot with 1 quart of water and ½ pound of pork.
Boil steadily, stirring often to prevent burning.
Add more water if needed to achieve your desired thickness.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + porktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,589 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
- Split peas
- Break down during long simmering, thickening the soup and giving it body.
- Pork
- Adds savory meaty flavor and some fat to the broth.
The step that matters
Stirring often while boiling steadily. Split peas are dense and settle quickly, so they scorch on the bottom of the pot. Scorched bits give a burnt taste that spreads through the whole pot.
“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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