Why it works: Cabbage and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,081 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Stuffed Baked Tomatoes
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cut a thin slice from the blossom end of each tomato and scoop out the pulp without breaking the rind.
In a bowl, mix the chopped cabbage, onion, breadcrumbs, and tomato pulp.
Season the mixture with salt, pepper, and sugar, then add the sweet cream and mix well.
Stuff and bake
Fill the tomato shells with the mixture and replace the slices on top.
Place the tomatoes in a buttered baking dish, cut ends up, and add enough water to prevent burning.
Top each tomato with a small lump of butter and bake for about 30 minutes until well done.
Add another bit of butter on each tomato before serving.
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.
-
Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,081 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Cabbage + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,001 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Tomato + oniontop 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
- Tomatoes
- Hold the filling as shells and release juice that moistens the stuffing as they bake.
- Breadcrumbs
- Absorb liquid from the cabbage, onion and pulp so the filling holds its shape.
- Sweet cream
- Adds richness and moisture, softening the filling as it bakes.
- Cabbage
- Forms the bulk of the filling and becomes tender and mild when baked.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness to the tops, helping them brown and taste rounded.
The step that matters
Scooping the tomatoes without breaking the rind. The rind is the only container for the filling. A torn shell lets the stuffing leak and the tomato collapse in the oven, so cut and scoop gently.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cabbage, onion, pepper, sugar, cream, butter):
- Leekfits better
- Potatofits better
- Mustardfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cabbage, onion, pepper, sugar, cream, butter. 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 stuffed tomatoes recipes
You might also like
The 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.
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Cream of Tomato Soup107 recipes
Red Cabbage65 recipes
Tomato Bisque61 recipes