Why it works: Beans and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 852 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Baked Beans
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a very moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Cook the dried beans gently until the skins begin to break, then drain the water.
Layer the beans in a bean pot or deep dish, placing the salt pork in the center with the rind side up.
Fill the dish with beans and add enough water to cover them.
Mix the salt and pepper with the water before adding it to the beans.
If desired, add mustard, molasses, and onion.
Bake
Bake the beans in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 8 to 10 hours, adding boiling water as needed to keep them covered.
Do not cover the beans while baking.
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 + mustardtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together852 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Mustard + oniontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,259 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beans + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,242 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pork + oniontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,214 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
- Dried beans
- Form the body of the dish, becoming tender and creamy as they cook slowly.
- Salt pork
- Adds fat and savory flavor that seeps into the beans during the long bake.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness and deep color to the beans as they bake.
- Mustard
- Adds a sharp, tangy note that balances the richness of the pork and sweetness.
The step that matters
Keeping the beans covered with liquid while baking. Beans exposed to air dry out and toughen on the surface during the long bake. Adding boiling water as needed keeps them moist and cooking evenly, while the uncovered dish lets the top brown and the sauce thicken.
Swap the mustard
The recipe marks mustard as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beans, pork, pepper, molasses, onion):
- Potatofits about as well
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Tomatofits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against beans, pork, pepper, molasses, onion. 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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