Why it works: Pepper and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Common Peas Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the peas
Wash the split peas well and soak them overnight.
Make the soup
Boil the peas with the baking soda in just enough water to break them down into a mash.
Combine the mashed peas with 3 to 4 quarts of beef broth and simmer gently for 1 hour.
Pass the mixture through a sieve and reheat as needed.
Season with salt and cayenne or black pepper, skimming off any scum.
Serve
Serve with fried or toasted bread, and add stewed celery for extra flavor if desired.
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 + celerytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 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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Peas + celerytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,832 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Beef + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,032 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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 mash to give the soup its body and thickness.
- Baking soda
- Raises the pH of the peas, helping them soften and break down during boiling.
- Beef broth
- Provides the liquid base and savory flavor for the soup.
The step that matters
Boiling the peas into a mash. Too little water can scorch the peas, while too much leaves a thin soup. Enough water lets the peas soften fully so they break down into a smooth mash.
Swap the celery
The recipe marks celery as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (peas, filbert, beef, pepper, bread):
- Celerythe original
- Parsleyfits about as well
- Thymefits about as well
- Clovefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against peas, filbert, beef, pepper, 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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