Why it works: Peas and rice are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,434 recipes. Both carry 2,4-nonadienal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Green-pea Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Boil the empty pods of the peas in the water for 1 hour.
Add the beef and boil slowly for an additional 1.5 hours.
Half an hour before serving, add the shelled peas.
Twenty minutes later, mix in the rice flour, salt, and pepper. Stir frequently to prevent scorching.
Strain into a hot tureen.
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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Peas + ricetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,434 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + ricetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,265 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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Rice + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,379 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Beef + peastop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,044 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
- Beef
- Provides meat flavour and body as it simmers slowly into the broth.
- Green peas
- Add sweet, vegetal flavour and colour to the soup.
- Rice flour
- Thickens the broth so it becomes smooth and full-bodied.
The step that matters
Stir frequently after adding the rice flour. Starch and flour settle on the bottom of a simmering pot and scorch easily, which gives a burnt taste. Frequent stirring keeps the flour dispersed and the soup evenly thickened.
Swap the peas
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, rice, flour, pepper):
- Black-eyed peafits better
- Beansfits better
- Sesamefits better
- Peasthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, rice, flour, pepper. 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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