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 ↓
Pea Puree
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Soak the dried green peas in soft water.
Boil the peas with 1 quart of water and 1 onion for about 1 hour.
Bake and serve
Transfer to a bean pot and bake for 1.5 hours, adding more water if necessary to keep covered.
Once done, run the mixture through a colander.
Stir in 1 teaspoon of butter.
Serve on toast, with raw carrots, or cold fat meat.
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
- Dried green peas
- Starch and fiber break down during long cooking, thickening the mixture into a smooth purée.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richer flavor and a silkier, smoother mouthfeel to the finished purée.
- Onion
- Releases savory, sweet aromatics into the cooking liquid, flavoring the peas as they simmer.
The step that matters
Keeping the peas covered while baking. Peas absorb liquid as they cook, and exposed surfaces dry out and scorch. Keeping them covered with added water maintains moisture so they soften evenly into a smooth purée.
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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