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 ↓
Green Peas
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Shell and wash the peas.
Soak the peas in water for a few moments to allow the tiny ones to float to the top.
Skim off the floating peas and drain the water.
Cook
Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the salt.
Add the peas and boil for 30 minutes until they have little dents in them.
Drain the peas.
Add the butter.
Place them in a covered dish.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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
- Fresh green peas
- Provide the main body of the dish, softening into a tender texture when boiled.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, coating the peas and giving a smooth mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Boiling the peas until dented. The peas must cook long enough to soften fully, since undercooked peas stay firm and starchy. Judging doneness by the small dents on the skin helps avoid both underdone and mushy peas.
“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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