Why it works: Peas and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,460 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
A LA Puree De Pois Aux Croutons
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Make the puree
In a pot, melt the butter over medium heat and sauté the chopped onion until translucent.
Add the green peas and vegetable broth, then bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes until peas are tender.
Blend the mixture until smooth, then season with salt.
Serve
Serve hot, garnished with croutons.
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 + oniontop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,460 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together42,912 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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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
- Green peas
- Provide the main body and flavor of the puree once cooked and blended.
- Vegetable broth
- Cooks the peas to tenderness and thins the puree to a smooth, pourable texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and helps soften the onion without browning it.
- Onion
- Builds savory depth as it softens and turns translucent in the butter.
The step that matters
Simmer until the peas are fully tender. Peas that are undercooked stay starchy and grainy, so the blended puree will not turn smooth. Cooking them until soft lets the starch break down and the texture blend evenly.
Swap the peas
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, butter):
- Sesamefits better
- Peanutfits better
- Almondfits better
- Peasthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against onion, butter. 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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