Why it works: Peas and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,887 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Pease Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the peas
Soak the split peas in water overnight.
Place the soaked peas in a cloth to allow them to swell.
Cook and shape
Boil the peas for four hours or until tender.
Rub the boiled peas through a colander to make a pulp.
Mix the pulp with butter and salt.
Tie the mixture in the cloth tightly and boil for another 30 minutes.
Serve
Serve with boiled pork or beef.
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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Peas + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,887 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
- Split peas
- Form the main body of the pudding, breaking down into a thick, soft pulp when cooked.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smoother, silkier mouthfeel to the pulp.
The step that matters
Tying the mixture in the cloth tightly. If the cloth is loose, the pudding can spread and lose its shape while boiling, and water may soak in, making it soggy. A firm, even wrap holds the pulp together as it cooks.
“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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