Tomato + Plum
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,480 recipes, and they share 284 flavor molecules: the top 6% of all ingredient pairs.
Do tomato and plum go together?
Yes. 1,480 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 284 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 6% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of plum's flavor molecules (284 of 381) also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are 2,4-decadienal (seaweed) and damascenone (apple, rose).
What each one brings
tomato
The fresh, green side. Green notes make up 14% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 9% for plum. It carries 226 molecules plum doesn't have.
plum
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 25% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 15% for tomato. It carries 97 molecules tomato doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Capsicum: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with tomato, top 7% with plum.
- Olive: top 1% of pairs with tomato, top 8% with plum.
- Cherry: top 4% of pairs with tomato, top 3% with plum.
- Peach: top 10% of pairs with tomato, top 1% with plum.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with tomato and plum
Almost always mains: 160 of the 197 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of plum's flavor molecules (284 of 381) are also found in tomato, but tomato has 226 that plum lacks. Plum gives you part of tomato's character without most of its fresh, green side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 284 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 226 only in tomato and the 97 only in plum.
Tomato and plum questions
Do tomato and plum go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 1,480 recipes, and they share 284 flavor molecules: the top 6% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do tomato and plum taste good together?
More than half of plum's flavor molecules (284 of 381) also occur in tomato. Among the shared key aromas are 2,4-decadienal (seaweed) and damascenone (apple, rose).
What goes with tomato and plum?
Capsicum is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with tomato and top 7% with plum. Olive and cherry also fit both.
What can you make with tomato and plum?
Almost always mains: 160 of the 197 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Skillet-Grilled Plum Tomatoes, Arroz de Tomate, Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Bruschetta, Chicken simmered with Zucchini, Tomatoes and Mushrooms.
Can I use plum instead of tomato?
Only partly. Most of plum's flavor molecules (284 of 381) are also found in tomato, but tomato has 226 that plum lacks. Plum gives you part of tomato's character without most of its fresh, green side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
Compare other ingredients
Ranks compare this pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. Molecule counts are what the studies and databases we aggregate have reported for each ingredient: a measure of coverage, not a full census. How we score pairs
Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). Compound similarity analysis: Tomato vs Plum. https://compkitchen.com/compare/tomato-vs-plum. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_tomato_vs_plum_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Tomato vs Plum},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/tomato-vs-plum},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.