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
Prepare
Shell the peas just before cooking.
Boil 1 quart of water for young peas or 2 quarts for old peas.
Add 1 teaspoon of coarse sea salt to the boiling water.
Skim the water, then add the peas.
Cook and serve
Boil the peas for 15 to 20 minutes, tasting to check doneness.
Drain the peas in a fine colander.
Transfer the peas to a warm serving dish and add bits of butter.
If desired, serve with boiled mint leaves on the side.
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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Butter + minttop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,559 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fresh peas
- Provide the main body and sweet, green flavour of the dish.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel as it melts over the hot peas.
The step that matters
Boil the peas until tender, tasting to check doneness. Peas go from bright green and tender to dull and mushy when overcooked, because prolonged heat breaks down their cell structure. Tasting during cooking lets the cook stop at the point of tenderness, which varies with the age of the peas.
“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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