Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Haricot Beans
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the beans
Soak the haricot beans in water for 12 hours.
Cover the beans with cold water and boil until tender, then drain.
Finish and serve
In a saucepan, melt the butter and add salt, pepper, parsley, and stock.
Add the drained beans and shake the pan occasionally to prevent burning.
Serve the beans on a hot dish.
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.
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Beans + parsleytop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,376 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Beans + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,733 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Beans + buttertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,799 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Haricot beans
- Form the main body of the dish, becoming tender through soaking and boiling.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, fatty mouthfeel to the beans.
- Stock
- Adds savory flavor and moisture to the beans in the pan.
The step that matters
Shaking the pan with the drained beans. Beans in a butter and stock mixture can scorch on the bottom of the pan if left still. Occasional shaking keeps them moving and coating evenly, which prevents burning and helps them absorb the liquid.
Swap the beans
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, pepper, parsley):
- Chickpeafits better
- Black-eyed peafits about as well
- Walnutfits about as well
- Beansthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, pepper, parsley. 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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