Tomato Cream Soup with Croutons.

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. Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together17,923 recipes

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

2. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together41,516 recipes

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

3. Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together20,633 recipes

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

4. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together68,474 recipes

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

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

Tomatoes

Provide the main body and tangy flavour of the soup.

Flour

Thickens the butter and soup mixture so the soup becomes creamy and smooth.

Butter or margarine

Adds richness and carries flavour, and browns the bread cubes.

Cream or milk

Adds richness and a softer, creamier texture to the finished soup.

Onion

Adds savoury depth to the broth as it simmers with the tomatoes.

The step that matters

Swap the tomato

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

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

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