Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 27,232 recipes mention both. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Simmer the soup
In a large pot, combine the tomatoes and water.
Add the beef and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours.
Finish and serve
Season with salt, pepper, and butter.
Strain the soup and serve with toasted bread.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + beeftop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together5,448 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + breadtop 10% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,013 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together18,971 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
- Tomatoes
- Provide the main body, bright acidity and flavor of the soup.
- Beef
- Adds savory, meaty flavor to the broth as it simmers.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smoother mouthfeel to the finished soup.
The step that matters
Reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours. After the boil, a gentle simmer extracts flavor from the beef and tomatoes slowly. A hard boil over the long cooking time can evaporate liquid unevenly and make the soup taste harsh or cloudy.
“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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