Why it works: Tomato and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 33% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,667 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Tomatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the tomatoes
Select medium-sized, firm tomatoes without spots or decay.
Blanch tomatoes in boiling water for 1 to 1.5 minutes, then plunge into cold water.
Drain, core, and peel the tomatoes promptly.
Pack and season
Pack tomatoes into jars or cans tightly to minimize air.
For home use, fill with thick tomato sauce or juice; for sale, do not add juice or water.
Season with salt and sugar.
Process and store
Process in a water bath for 25-30 minutes or under steam pressure (5 pounds for 15 minutes, 10 pounds for 10 minutes).
Seal 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 their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Tomato + sugartop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,667 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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 and acidity that make up the canned product.
- Salt
- Seasons the tomatoes and adds flavor to the packed product.
- Sugar
- Balances the acidity of the tomatoes and rounds out their flavor.
The step that matters
Process to the correct time and pressure. Tomatoes are acidic enough for a water bath only when processed long enough to destroy spoilage microbes. Under-processing risks spoilage, so timing and pressure must match the method used.
“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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