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.
Bring the water to a boil in a large pot.
Add 1 teaspoon of salt for each quart of water and skim the surface.
Do not mix young and old peas together.
Cook and serve
Add the peas to the boiling water and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, tasting to check doneness.
Drain the peas in a colander and transfer to a warm serving dish.
Add a few bits of butter and serve immediately.
If desired, serve with boiled and minced fresh mint 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.
-
Peas + minttop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,137 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Peas + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,887 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
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
- Green peas
- Form the main body of the dish, cooking to a tender, sweet texture.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel when added to the hot peas.
- Sea salt
- Seasons the cooking water so the peas taste seasoned throughout.
The step that matters
Cook the peas for the right time. Peas go from bright green and tender to dull and mushy within minutes. Tasting during cooking catches doneness before they overcook, and keeping young and old peas separate lets each batch reach doneness at its own rate.
“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.
More green peas recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 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.