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 ↓
Soup for Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Boil the water and tomato pulp together.
Add sugar, salt, pepper, and spices.
Continue boiling for at least 15 minutes.
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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Sugar + peppertop 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).
Sugar and pepper 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
- Tomato pulp
- Forms the body and main flavor base of the sauce.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the acidity of the tomatoes.
- Water
- Thins the tomato pulp to a sauce consistency as it boils.
“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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