Why it works: Carrot and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓
Pea Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the peas and soak them in water for about 12 hours.
Combine the soaked peas, bones (if using), and stock in a stewpan and bring to a boil.
Add the sliced vegetables when the mixture boils and simmer for about 3 hours.
Finish and serve
Pass the mixture through a wire sieve back into the saucepan.
Mix the flour with a little water and add it to the soup; boil until incorporated.
Season to taste and serve, placing the dried mint in the tureen before pouring the soup over it.
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 + celerytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,173 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Carrot + turniptop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,002 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Peas + minttop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,137 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Turnip + celerytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,418 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Dried split peas
- Main body of the soup; they break down during simmering to thicken it.
- Flour
- Thickens the soup as it boils, giving it a smoother body.
- Onion
- Builds savoury sweetness and aroma as it cooks into the stock.
- Carrot
- Adds subtle sweetness and body to the soup as it simmers.
- Turnip
- Contributes mild sweetness and earthy flavour as it softens.
The step that matters
Adding the flour mixture. Flour mixed with water must be fully incorporated and boiled, otherwise it can leave lumps or a raw, pasty taste. Boiling also activates its thickening starch.
Swap the mint
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (peas, onion, carrot, turnip, celery, pepper, flour):
- Parsleyfits better
- Thymefits better
- Marjoramfits better
- Mintthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against peas, onion, carrot, turnip, celery, pepper, flour. 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 pea soup recipes
You might also like
Green Peas229 recipes
Carrot Soup134 recipes
Cream of Celery Soup113 recipes
Turnip Soup43 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.