Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Pork and Beans
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the beans
Pick over and wash the beans, then soak them in water overnight.
Wash and drain the beans, then boil them in cold water for 20 minutes.
Stir in the baking soda and skim off the froth.
Drain the beans and pour them into an earthenware covered pot.
Bake and serve
Score the rind of the salt pork and place it in the center of the beans.
Mix the boiling water with salt, cayenne pepper, and molasses, then pour it over the beans.
Cover the pot and bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 4 hours.
Remove the cover for the last hour to brown the top and crisp the pork.
Serve in a deep dish with the pork on top, garnished with parsley.
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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Beans + parsleytop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,376 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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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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Beans + porktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,000 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pork + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,121 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
- Beans
- Form the bulk of the dish and, once long-baked, give it a soft, tender texture.
- Baking soda
- Raises the water's alkalinity, helping the beans soften during boiling.
- Salt pork
- Adds fat and savoury flavour to the beans, and its rind crisps on top.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness and depth of colour to the sauce as it bakes.
The step that matters
Removing the cover for the last hour. Uncovering lets moisture evaporate and the surface brown, while the pork crisps. Covering too long leaves the top pale and the sauce watery.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beans, pork, pepper, molasses):
- Clovefits better
- Cuminfits better
- Allspicefits better
- Parsleythe 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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