Why it works: Pork and peas are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,589 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Pickled Leg of Pork
Ingredients
Directions
Cure
Salt the leg of pork for 8-10 days, turning and rubbing it daily.
Soak the pork in cold water for 30 minutes before cooking.
Cook and serve
Place the pork in cold water and bring to a boil.
Skim off the scum and let it simmer until done, about 3 hours for a 7-8 pound leg.
Serve with peas-pudding and boiled greens.
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.
-
Pork + peastop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,589 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
- Pork leg
- Forms the main meat; long salting firms the flesh and seasons it through.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws out moisture and preserves the meat during the multi-day cure.
The step that matters
Skim off the scum while simmering. Foam that rises as the pork heats contains impurities and proteins; removing it keeps the cooking liquid clean and the meat's flavor clear.
“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.
You might also like
Green Peas229 recipes
Pork Cake107 recipes
Roast Pork82 recipes
Green Peas Soup35 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.