Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 81,283 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Cream of Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the tomato base
Cook the canned tomatoes with sugar for 5 minutes.
Add baking soda and stir well.
Rub the mixture through a sieve to remove solids.
Make the cream sauce
Melt butter in a pot.
Add flour and mix until combined.
Add milk and onion slice.
Cook until thickened.
Remove the onion.
Add the tomato pulp.
Cook for 1 minute.
Serve hot.
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.
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Butter and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 124,287 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Canned tomatoes
- Provide the main body and acidic tomato flavor of the soup.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, carrying flavor and smoothing the soup's texture.
- Flour
- Thickens the butter and milk into a smooth, stable white sauce.
- Milk
- Forms the creamy base of the soup and helps it thicken with the flour.
- Baking soda
- Neutralizes some of the tomato's acidity, mellowing the flavor and reducing sharpness.
The step that matters
Add the tomato pulp to the milk sauce. Acidic tomatoes can curdle hot milk. Adding the tomato pulp after the baking soda has neutralized some acid, and while the sauce is thick, helps keep the milk smooth.
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, sugar, butter, flour, milk):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Sweet potatobetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, sugar, butter, flour, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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.
You might also like
Tomato Bisque11 recipes
Indian Spiced Potato Soup with Tofu and Spinach448 recipes
Clear Carrot and Bottle Gourd Soup65 recipes
Mock Bisque Soup51 recipesThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.