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Puree of Peas

A smooth puree of boiled peas flavoured with mint, green onion, parsley, sugar, white sauce, glaze and butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 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 ↓

Puree of Peas

Ingredients

Directions

Make the puree

  1. Boil the peas with mint, green onions, and parsley until tender.

  2. Strain off the water.

  3. Pound the mixture in a mortar until smooth.

  4. Transfer the mixture to a stewpan.

  5. Add the sugar and white sauce.

  6. Heat gently.

  7. Pass the puree through a fine sieve (tammy).

Finish and serve

  1. Warm the puree in a small stewpan.

  2. Mix in the glaze and butter before serving.

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. Mint + parsleytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,198 recipes

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

  3. Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,843 recipes

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

  4. Peas + parsleytop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,885 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  5. Peas + oniontop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,460 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

What each ingredient does

Marrowfat or prussian-blue peas
Form the main body of the puree once cooked and pounded smooth.
White sauce
Adds richness and a smoother, creamier body to the puree.
Butter
Adds fat for a glossy finish and a rounder, richer mouthfeel.
Sugar
Adds a little sweetness to balance the vegetable flavour.

The step that matters

Passing the puree through a fine sieve. Pounding alone leaves fibrous bits of pea skin and mint, so sieving is what produces a truly smooth texture. Skipping or rushing it leaves the puree grainy.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (peas, mint, parsley, sugar, sauce, butter):

  1. Shallotfits better
  2. Cucumberfits better
  3. Carrotfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against peas, mint, parsley, sugar, sauce, 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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