Why it works: Beans and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 26% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,587 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
French Beans
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Peel the beans to remove the delicate fiber and nip off the ends.
Cook
Bring a pot of water to a boil and add baking soda, salt, and sugar.
Plunge the beans into the boiling water and cook until tender.
For better color, place wood ashes in a linen cloth and pour boiling water over it.
Alternatively, steam the beans in a vegetable steamer until tender.
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 + sugartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,587 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- French beans
- The main vegetable, becoming tender and mild once cooked in boiling water.
- Baking soda
- Raises the water's alkalinity, which helps the beans keep a bright green color and softens them.
- Sugar
- Adds a slight sweetness that balances the beans' natural grassy flavor.
- Wood ashes
- Adds alkalinity, which helps keep the beans bright green.
The step that matters
Cook the beans until tender. Green beans go from bright and crisp to dull and mushy within a short time. Checking them early keeps their color and texture good.
“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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