Why it works: Peas and mint are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,137 recipes mention both. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
Plain Peas Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Rinse the split peas and celery, and chop the celery.
In a large pot, combine the peas, celery, onion (if using), and broth or water.
Simmer and strain
Simmer gently over low heat for 3 hours, stirring every 15 minutes.
If the soup thickens too much, add boiling water as needed.
Once softened, strain the soup through a coarse sieve, then through a fine sieve.
Finish and serve
Return the strained soup to the pot and bring to a boil, skimming off any scum.
Serve with fried bread and dried 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.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Peas + minttop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,137 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Celery + oniontop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together18,518 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Celery + minttop 11% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together334 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Peas + breadtop 11% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together804 recipes
Shared aroma: hexyl acetate (fruity, apple).
-
Peas + celerytop 12% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,832 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Split peas
- Break down during long simmering to thicken the soup and give it body.
- Celery
- Adds aromatic flavour and sweetness as it softens into the broth.
- Broth or soft water
- Forms the liquid base that the peas absorb and cook in.
The step that matters
Simmering gently while stirring. Keeping the heat low and stirring regularly prevents the peas from scorching on the bottom of the pot. Adding boiling water as needed keeps the soup from becoming too thick before the peas have fully softened.
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
The recipe marks onion as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (peas, celery, bread, mint):
- Carrotbetter flavor fit
- Lettucebetter flavor fit
- Tomatobetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against peas, celery, bread, mint. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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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