Why it works: Tomato and pepper 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 ↓
Cream of Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the tomato base
Simmer the tomatoes and onion together for 20 minutes.
Rub the mixture through a sieve.
Reheat the tomato juice and add baking soda while hot.
Finish and serve
Make a white sauce with the remaining ingredients and add the tomato juice.
Serve immediately.
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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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + milktop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,226 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Onion + milktop 20% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together13,418 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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 flavor of the soup once simmered and sieved.
- Baking soda
- Neutralizes some of the tomato's acidity, which softens its sharp taste.
- Milk
- Forms the creamy base of the soup, adding richness and a smooth texture.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the white sauce so the soup becomes smooth and body-rich.
- Fat
- Carries flavor and adds richness, and helps form the white sauce with the cornstarch.
The step that matters
Adding baking soda to the hot tomato juice. Baking soda reacts with acid and releases gas, so it can foam up. Adding it while the juice is hot speeds the reaction. Adding milk to tomato acid too early can cause curdling, so the order and timing matter.
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, milk, pepper):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Carrotbetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, milk, pepper. 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.
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