Why it works: Carrot and turnip match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,002 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
Directions
In a large pot, place the piece of boiling beef and cover it with enough water.
Add the chopped carrot, turnip, and onion to the pot.
Stir in the split peas and barley.
Bring to a boil and let it simmer for three hours.
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.
-
Carrot + turniptop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,002 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Turnip + barleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together629 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Turnip + oniontop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,585 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Carrot + barleytop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together784 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Boiling beef with a bone
- Gives the broth its meaty flavour and richness as it simmers.
- Split peas
- Soften during long simmering and thicken the broth slightly.
- Barley
- Softens as it cooks and adds body and chew to the soup.
- Carrot
- Adds sweetness and colour as it softens in the broth.
- Onion
- Adds savoury depth and aroma as it cooks down.
The step that matters
Bring to a boil, then simmer gently for three hours. A rolling boil toughens meat and can break up the split peas and barley, while a gentle simmer lets the beef become tender and the broth clear and well flavoured.
Swap the peas
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, carrot, turnip, onion, barley):
- Lentilsfits better
- Beansfits better
- Chestnutfits better
- Peasthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, carrot, turnip, onion, barley. 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.
More vegetable soup recipes
You might also like
Green Peas229 recipes
Roast Beef211 recipes
Beef Loaf175 recipes
Carrot Soup134 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.