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Peas Porridge

A porridge made from green peas, dried mint, butter, and milk.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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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 ↓

Peas Porridge

Ingredients

Directions

Make the porridge

  1. In a pot, combine green peas, dried mint, salt, and water.

  2. Boil until the peas are tender.

  3. Add black pepper and the butter rolled in flour; stir well, then boil for a few more minutes.

  4. Add milk and boil for an additional 15 minutes.

Serve

  1. Remove the mint and serve hot.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Peas + minttop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,137 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  2. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Mint + peppertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,372 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  4. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Flour + milktop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together78,219 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Green peas
Form the body of the porridge as they soften and break down into a thick texture.
Butter rolled in flour
Flour and fat thicken the liquid and add a smooth, rich mouthfeel.
Milk
Adds creaminess and richness to the porridge as it simmers.
Dried mint
Contributes a fresh, aromatic flavour that is removed before serving.

The step that matters

Adding the milk and boiling. Milk contains proteins and sugars that can scorch or form a skin on the bottom of the pot if boiled too hard or unattended. Stirring and keeping the heat moderate helps prevent sticking and keeps the texture smooth.

Swap the mint

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (peas, pepper, butter, flour, milk):

  1. Cardamomfits better
  2. Cinnamonfits better
  3. Parsleyfits better
  4. Mintthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against peas, pepper, butter, flour, milk. 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.

More pea porridge recipes

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