Tomato Timbale

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.

1. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together81,283 recipes

   Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

2. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together41,516 recipes

   Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

3. Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together20,633 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

4. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together43,450 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

5. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they 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

Eggs

Set the custard, giving the timbales their firm, sliceable structure when baked.

Egg yolks

Add richness and smoothness to the custard and help it set softly.

Cream

Adds fat and moisture, producing a softer, silkier texture in the custard.

Tomato puree

Provides the main tomato flavour and moisture in the custard mixture.

Butter

Forms the roux with flour, adding richness and body to the sauce.

Flour

Thickens the milk into a smooth cream sauce when cooked with butter.

The step that matters

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, onion, cream, butter, flour, milk):

1. Leekfits better
2. Potatofits better
3. Chivefits better
4. Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, onion, cream, butter, flour, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.