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Peas

A buttery, parsley and green onion flavored pea stew with a touch of sugar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 25,843 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Peas

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Shell the peas and rinse them in cold water.

  2. Combine the peas with butter and enough water to cover them in a saucepan.

  3. Rub the peas with the butter until they stick together.

  4. Drain the peas.

Cook

  1. Stew the peas with parsley and green onions over moderate heat until they regain their color.

  2. Sprinkle a little flour over the peas.

  3. Stir the peas.

  4. Add boiling water until the peas are covered.

  5. Reduce the heat.

  6. Add sugar dissolved in a little water and a small amount of salt.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Parsley + oniontop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,843 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Peas + parsleytop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,885 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  3. Peas + oniontop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,460 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Butter + oniontop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together42,912 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together28,563 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Green peas
Form the main body of the dish, becoming tender as they simmer.
Butter
Adds richness and a glossy coating that helps the peas hold together.
Flour (in the method)
Thickens the cooking liquid so it clings to the peas.
Sugar
Adds a touch of sweetness that balances the savory flavors.

The step that matters

Stew until the peas regain their color. Peas dull when they are cooked or handled too long in heat. Stewing gently over moderate heat keeps them bright green and tender without overcooking.

Swap the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, parsley, onion, sugar):

  1. Chickpeafits better
  2. Chestnutfits better
  3. Almondfits better
  4. Peasthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, parsley, onion, 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.

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