Why it works: Okra and tomato work together. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 327 recipes. Both carry damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Okra with Tomatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Melt butter, stir in flour for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add milk gradually.
Season and cook over low heat for 5 minutes.
Assemble and bake
Chop okra, mix with tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs.
Turn mixture into a baking dish and pour the flour-milk mixture over it.
Sprinkle with remaining breadcrumbs and bake for about 15 minutes in a moderate oven.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Okra | 1 cup (100g) | 33 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Thyme | 1 tsp dried (1.4g) | 4 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
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.
-
Okra + tomatotop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together327 recipes
Shared aroma: damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Okra + thymetop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together145 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Pepper + thymetop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,585 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Tomato + thymetop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,370 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Okra + flourtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together234 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Okra
- Forms the main body of the dish and gives a tender, soft texture when boiled and baked.
- Tomatoes
- Add moisture and acidity that brighten the flavour of the baked dish.
- Butter
- Fat that cooks with the flour to form the base of the white sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk into a smooth sauce as it cooks with the butter.
- Milk
- Liquid that, heated with the flour and butter, becomes a creamy sauce.
- Bread crumbs
- Form a crisp, golden topping as they bake.
The step that matters
Adding the milk gradually. Adding milk slowly to the hot butter and flour, off the heat, lets the starch disperse evenly. Pouring it in all at once can create lumps that are hard to smooth out.
Swap the okra
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, bread, butter, flour, milk, pepper, thyme):
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatofits better
- Shallotfits about as well
- Okrathe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, bread, butter, flour, milk, pepper, thyme. 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.
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