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 ↓
Tomato Sauce or Puree
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the tomatoes
Cut the tomatoes into medium-sized pieces.
Add the chopped onion and pepper to the tomatoes.
Cook until tender, then pass through a sieve.
Make the sauce
Add salt and sugar to the pulp and cook until the consistency of ketchup, stirring constantly.
Preserve
Pack the hot mixture into jars and process in a water bath for 25 minutes or under steam pressure as specified.
Seal the jars immediately after removing from the canner.
Cool tin cans quickly in cold water and store in a dark, dry, cool place.
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 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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Pepper + sugartop 32% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together19,401 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Tomato + sugartop 33% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together4,667 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Pepper and sugar share little aroma chemistry, yet 19,401 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
- Tomatoes
- Form the bulk of the sauce and provide its main liquid and acidity.
- Onion
- Adds savory depth and aroma as it softens during cooking.
- Fresh pepper
- Contributes mild heat and fresh, vegetal flavor to the sauce.
- Sugar
- Balances the tomato's acidity and adds sweetness.
The step that matters
Cooking the pulp to ketchup consistency. Sauce thickens as water evaporates and sugars concentrate, so under-cooking leaves it thin and watery, while stirring constantly prevents scorching on the bottom of the pan.
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, pepper, sugar):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Carrotbetter flavor fit
- Okrabetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, pepper, sugar. 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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