Why it works: Beans and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,799 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
French Beans
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the beans in plenty of cold water.
String and slice the beans, but do not soak them in water again.
Cook and serve
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
Add the beans and remove any scum that forms.
Boil for 15 to 20 minutes until tender, without a lid.
Strain the beans through a colander.
Stir in a small piece of butter 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.
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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Beans + buttertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,799 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- French beans
- Form the main body of the dish and supply its tender, green texture when cooked.
- Butter
- Adds fat and a rich, smooth finish to the cooked beans.
The step that matters
Boil for 15 to 20 minutes until tender, without a lid.. Beans need enough time in boiling water to soften fully. Cooking uncovered lets steam escape and helps the beans keep a fresh green colour, while the surface scum is removed beforehand so it does not cloud the cooking water.
“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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