Why it works: Beans and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,733 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Pork and Beans
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the beans
Pick over and soak the beans overnight.
In the morning, wash and drain the beans.
Boil the beans in cold water with baking soda for about 30 minutes.
Drain the beans and place them in an earthen pot.
Bake
Add a slice of pork and the molasses to the pot.
Place the salt pork in the center, scored on top.
Season with pepper and coarse sea salt if needed.
Cover with hot water and bake for 6 hours or longer.
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 + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,733 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beans + porktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,000 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pork + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,121 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beans + molassestop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together491 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + peppertop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together897 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beans
- Provide the main body and starch that give the dish its hearty texture.
- Salt pork
- Adds fat and savory flavor that seasons the beans as they bake.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness and a dark color to the baked beans.
- Baking soda
- Raises the pot's alkalinity, helping the beans soften during boiling.
The step that matters
Covering the beans with hot water and baking long enough. Beans need a long, gentle bake in enough liquid to become tender and creamy. If they dry out or bake too briefly, they stay firm and the pork flavor does not fully blend into them.
“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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