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 ↓
Salt Beef Liquor
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Boil the split peas in water until reduced to a pulp.
Chop the mixed vegetables small.
Make the soup
For each quart of liquor, add ½ pint of water and adjust saltiness with sugar if needed.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then add the pea pulp and vegetables.
Simmer for 20 minutes and serve with dried mint.
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.
-
Peas + minttop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,137 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Peas + sugartop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,928 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Sugar + minttop 32% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,592 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Split peas
- Break down into a pulp that thickens the soup and gives it body.
- Mixed vegetables
- Add bulk, flavour and texture to the soup.
Swap the mint
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (peas, sugar):
- Mintthe original
- Cinnamonfits about as well
- Gingerfits less well
- Peppermintfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against peas, sugar. 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.
More split pea soup recipes
You might also like
Green Peas229 recipes
Green Peas Soup35 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 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.