Why it works: Peas and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,887 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
To Boil Green Peas
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash and drain the peas in a colander.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil.
Cook and serve
Add the peas and boil uncovered until tender, about 15 to 25 minutes.
Drain the peas well and serve immediately with melted butter.
Optionally, place a slice of butter in the center of the peas and let it melt before serving.
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 + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,887 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 dish; cooking softens their starches until tender.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a silky moisture when melted over the hot peas.
The step that matters
Add the peas and boil uncovered until tender. Boiling at a rapid, steady rate keeps the water hot enough to cook the peas evenly. Overcooking turns them dull and mushy, while undercooking leaves them starchy and firm, so checking tenderness matters.
“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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