Why it works: Peas and mint are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,137 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
Green Peas
Ingredients
Directions
Shell the peas and cook them in boiling salted water.
Add the sprig of mint and sugar.
Boil for 13 to 30 minutes, depending on the age of the peas.
Drain the peas and add a piece of butter when 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 + minttop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,137 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, 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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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Mint + buttertop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,559 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Peas + sugartop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,928 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fresh green peas
- Form the main body of the dish, so their tenderness sets the texture.
- Sugar
- Adds a touch of sweetness that balances the vegetal flavour of the peas.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a silky mouthfeel when stirred into the warm peas.
The step that matters
Boil for 13 to 30 minutes, depending on the age of the peas. Older peas have starches that take longer to soften, while young peas turn mushy quickly. Checking tenderness rather than the clock keeps the peas bright green and evenly cooked.
Swap the mint
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (peas, sugar, butter):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Mintthe original
- Gingerfits about as well
- Tarragonfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against peas, sugar, 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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