Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 81,283 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the soup
In a pot, combine the tomatoes, water, and stock or desiccated soup.
Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.
Add a pinch of baking soda.
Finish and serve
In a separate bowl, mix the milk, flour, and butter to create a sauce.
Combine the sauce with the tomato mixture and boil for another 5 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Strain into a hot tureen.
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.
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Tomato + milktop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,226 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Flour and butter share little aroma chemistry, yet 124,287 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
- Provide the main body, flavour and acidity of the soup.
- Baking soda
- Neutralises some of the tomato's acidity, mellowing the flavour and softening the colour.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk and butter into a sauce that gives the soup body.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and helps the flour form a smooth sauce.
- Milk
- Adds creaminess and mildness, softening the tomato's sharpness.
The step that matters
Add the baking soda in a pinch. Baking soda reacts with tomato acid and can cause foaming and a soapy taste if overused. A small pinch is enough to mellow the acidity.
“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.
More tomato soup recipes
You might also like
Tomato Bisque61 recipes
Tomato Fritters23 recipes
Tomato Puree23 recipes
Macaroni with Tomato Sauce16 recipesThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.