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 ↓
Baked Pork and Beans
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the beans
Boil the dry beans in cold water for 1 hour.
After they begin to boil, add the baking soda and let it boil up.
Pour off the water and add fresh water, then boil until the beans are tender but not mashed.
Bake
Clean the salt pork, score the rind, and place it in the center of the beans in a large baking pan.
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) until everything is nicely browned on top.
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
- Dry beans
- Form the body of the dish, becoming tender and absorbing flavor as they cook.
- Baking soda
- Raises the pH of the cooking water, helping the bean skins soften and the beans cook more evenly.
- Salt pork
- Adds fat and savory flavor that seasons the beans as it renders during baking.
The step that matters
Boil the beans until tender but not mashed. Overcooking breaks down the bean skins and starch, so the beans turn mushy before baking. Stopping at tender keeps them whole while they finish cooking in the oven.
“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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