Tomato + Pork
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 4,843 recipes, and they share 210 flavor molecules: the top 10% of all ingredient pairs.
Do tomato and pork go together?
Yes. 4,843 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 210 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 10% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
They overlap on 210 flavor molecules: 50% of pork's 424. Among the shared key aromas are 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea) and 1-nonanal (fatty, waxy).
What each one brings
tomato
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 8% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 2% for pork. It carries 300 molecules pork doesn't have.
pork
The roast. Roasted notes make up 9% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 5% for tomato. It carries 214 molecules tomato doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Beef: the best fit for both, top 8% of pairs with tomato, top 1% with pork.
- Capsicum: top 1% of pairs with tomato, top 10% with pork.
- Olive: top 1% of pairs with tomato, top 11% with pork.
- Potato: top 5% of pairs with tomato, top 5% with pork.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with tomato and pork
Almost always mains: 436 of the 488 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: tomato has 300 molecules pork doesn't, and pork has 214 that tomato doesn't. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 210 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 300 only in tomato and the 214 only in pork.
Tomato and pork questions
Do tomato and pork go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 4,843 recipes, and they share 210 flavor molecules: the top 10% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do tomato and pork taste good together?
They overlap on 210 flavor molecules: 50% of pork's 424. Among the shared key aromas are 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea) and 1-nonanal (fatty, waxy).
What goes with tomato and pork?
Beef is the best third ingredient: top 8% of pairs with tomato and top 1% with pork. Capsicum and olive also fit both.
What can you make with tomato and pork?
Almost always mains: 436 of the 488 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Nam Phrik Ong (Thai Pork and Tomato Dip), 3-Ingredient Crockpot Pork Roast, All-star Pork Meatballs, Apple BBQ Pork.
Can I use pork instead of tomato?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: tomato has 300 molecules pork doesn't, and pork has 214 that tomato doesn't. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. 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 Pork. https://compkitchen.com/compare/tomato-vs-pork. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_tomato_vs_pork_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Tomato vs Pork},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/tomato-vs-pork},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.