Why it works: Milk and beans are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,266 recipes. Both carry 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine, which smells cocoa, roasted. The science ↓
Cream of Bean Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the base
Add enough water from the cooked beans to the bean puree to achieve a thin mush consistency.
Heat the mixture until very hot.
Finish the soup
Stir in the boiling hot milk until the mixture resembles thick cream.
Bring to a boil immediately and serve.
Do not cook for many minutes after adding the milk.
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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Milk + beanstop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,266 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Bean puree
- Provides the body and thick, hearty texture of the soup.
- Milk
- Adds creaminess and a smooth, rich mouthfeel to the soup.
The step that matters
Stirring in the milk and finishing quickly. Milk proteins can scorch on the bottom of the pan and curdle or separate if held at a boil for long. Adding the milk to hot mixture and serving right away keeps the soup smooth and creamy.
“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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