Why it works: Pepper and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 17,923 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the soup
Combine stock, tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pepper in a pot.
Cook the mixture for 1 hour.
Mix flour with cold water to make a thick paste. Add the paste to the pot.
Cook for 10 minutes.
Finish and serve
Strain the soup through a fine sieve.
Stir in cream just before serving, if desired.
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.
-
Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + creamtop 20% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
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, acidity and flavour of the soup.
- Flour
- Thickens the soup as it cooks, giving it a fuller body.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, mellow texture at the end.
The step that matters
Add the flour paste and cook for 10 minutes. Flour must be mixed smoothly with cold water before it goes in, because lumps form if it is added dry or to hot liquid. Cooking for the full time lets the starch swell and thicken the soup and cook out any raw flour taste.
“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 tomato soup recipes
You might also like
Tomato Bisque61 recipes
Tomato Fritters23 recipes
Tomato Puree23 recipes
Macaroni with Tomato Sauce16 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.