Why it works: Barley and peas work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 187 recipes. Both carry 2-octenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Consomme with Pearl Barley
Ingredients
Directions
Combine 1 quart consommé, ¼ cup well-washed pearl barley, and 1 pint boiling water in a granite kettle.
Bring to a boil and cook for 45 minutes.
Stir in ⅓ cup diced cold-cooked chicken and 2 tablespoons cooked peas.
Serve hot over crisp crackers.
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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Barley + peastop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together187 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Barley + chickentop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together265 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
-
Chicken + peastop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,528 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Pearl barley
- Swells as it simmers, adding body and a chewy texture to the broth.
- Consommé
- Forms the flavorful liquid base that the barley cooks in.
- Cold cooked chicken
- Adds savory protein and substance to the finished soup.
Swap the peas
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (barley, chicken):
- Beansfits better
- Peanutfits better
- Sesamefits better
- Peasthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against barley, chicken. 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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