Why it works: Peas and lettuce match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,293 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓
Green Peas
Ingredients
Directions
Place several outer leaves of lettuce in the bottom of a saucepan, then add the peas and butter.
Cover the pan tightly and place it over the fire.
Cook for 30 minutes until ready to serve.
Season in the pan or remove before serving.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + lettucetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,293 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
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Peas + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,887 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Butter + lettucetop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,287 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Green peas
- Form the main body of the dish, cooking down to a tender texture in their own moisture.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, carrying flavour and giving the peas a silky mouthfeel.
- Lettuce
- Lines the pan and releases moisture, helping steam the peas gently while they cook.
The step that matters
Covering the pan tightly. A tight lid traps steam so the peas cook gently in their own moisture. A loose lid lets moisture escape, which can dry the peas and concentrate flavour unevenly over the long cook.
Swap the lettuce
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (peas, butter):
- Asparagusfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Leekfits better
- Lettucethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against peas, 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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