Why it works: Beans and tomato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,713 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Hollandaise Baked Beans
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the beans
Soak the beans overnight in cold water.
In the morning, drain and wash the beans.
Place the beans in a pot with cold water and 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Boil for about 15 minutes, then drain and wash again.
Boil the beans in boiling water until they can be pierced with a pin.
Drain the beans and place them in a baking dish.
Season and layer
Finely chop the onions.
Mix the chopped onions with the beans, brown sugar, salt, dry mustard, and white pepper.
Pour boiling water over the salt pork. Scrape the salt pork. Cut the salt pork into strips.
Lay the strips of salt pork over the top of the beans. Push the salt pork strips down into the beans to a depth of 1 inch.
Add the tomato sauce or ketchup. Pour enough boiling water over to almost cover the beans.
Bake
Bake for 6 to 7 hours in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C).
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 + tomatotop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,713 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beans + mustardtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together852 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Mustard + oniontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,259 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beans + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,242 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 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
- Navy beans
- Form the bulk of the dish and become tender and creamy during the long bake.
- Fat salt pork
- Adds fat and savory flavor as it renders into the beans.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the beans brown and caramelize during baking.
- Onions
- Add savory depth and aroma as they soften into the sauce.
- Tomato sauce or ketchup
- Adds acidity and sweetness that balance the richness of the pork and sugar.
The step that matters
Boil the beans until they can be pierced with a pin. Beans must be fully softened before baking, because acids and sugars in the sauce can slow softening, and undercooked beans stay firm and grainy after the long bake.
Swap the white pepper
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beans, sugar, mustard, pork, onion, tomato):
- Garlicfits better
- Cuminfits better
- Capersfits better
- White pepperthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beans, sugar, mustard, pork, onion, tomato. 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.
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