Why it works: Peas and asparagus match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 808 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
An Excellent Green Peas Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the soup
Boil the peas with the carbonate of soda until tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Drain the peas and add them to the boiling stock.
Gently stew the mixture for 30 minutes.
Finish and serve
Pass the soup through a fine sieve into a clean pan and bring it to a boil.
Add salt if needed and the pounded sugar, skimming off any scum.
Serve hot with small pieces of fried bread.
For an elegant variation, add ½ pint of cooked asparagus points just before serving.
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 + asparagustop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together808 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Peas + breadtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together804 recipes
Shared aroma: hexyl acetate (fruity, apple).
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Beef + asparagustop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together237 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,032 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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Bread + asparagustop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together363 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Green peas
- Form the body of the soup as they soften and break down into a thick purée.
- Carbonate of soda
- Raises the alkalinity of the cooking water, helping the peas soften quickly and keep a bright green color.
- Beef or veal stock
- Supplies the savory, meaty flavor base and liquid for the soup.
- Pounded sugar
- Adds a small amount of sweetness that rounds out the savory flavors.
The step that matters
Skimming off scum while the soup boils. Foam and impurities rise to the surface of the stock and peas as they heat; removing them keeps the soup clear and clean-tasting. Skimming is needed before the sugar and salt are adjusted.
Swap the asparagus
The recipe marks asparagus as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (peas, beef, sugar, bread):
- Asparagusthe original
- Tomatofits about as well
- Leekfits about as well
- Shallotfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against peas, beef, sugar, bread. 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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