Name: Deep-fried Tofu Fritters with Mixed Berry Salsa
Ingredients: FOR THE FRITTERS; 50 gm Self-raising flour, (2oz); 100 ml Water, (4 floz); Salt and freshly ground pepper; Vegetable oil for frying; 1 x 285 g tofu, cut into chunks; FOR THE MIXED BERRY SALSA; 2 tbl Caster sugar; 2 tbl Red wine vinegar; 300 gm Mixed berries, eg. redcurrants, blackcurrants, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries (10z); 2 x Shallots, finely diced

Why it works: Flour and shallot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,081 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

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.

Flour + shallottop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,081 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + tofutop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together350 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Red wine + vinegartop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together575 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Tofu + shallottop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Pepper + shallottop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,898 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Self-raising flour: Forms the batter that coats the tofu and fries up crisp and golden.
Tofu: Provides the soft, moist filling inside the crisp batter coating.
Mixed berries: Provide the fruity body of the salsa, softening and releasing juices when poached.
Caster sugar: Sweetens the salsa and balances the sharpness of the vinegar and berries.
Red wine vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the sweet berries in the salsa.

The step that matters

Frying the battered tofu. The oil must be hot before the tofu goes in. Hot oil sets the batter quickly, so it crisps rather than soaking up oil and turning greasy.

Swap the berry

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, pepper, tofu, sugar, red wine, vinegar, shallot):

Limefits better
Lemonfits better
Plumfits better
Berrythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, pepper, tofu, sugar, red wine, vinegar, shallot. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Blueberry	1 cup (148g)	84
Tofu	100g firm	76
Raspberry	1 cup (123g)	64
Blackberry	1 cup (144g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0
Berry	not in our table	0
Redcurrant	not in our table	0
Blackcurrant	not in our table	0

Deep-fried Tofu Fritters with Mixed Berry Salsa