Name: Broiled Tomatoes
Ingredients: 3 large tomatoes, or 6 small tomatoes; Salt and pepper, to taste; 2 teaspoons butter or margarine; 2 tablespoons fine dry breadcrumbs; Category:Fruits and Vegetables

Why it works: Tomato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Broiled Tomatoes

Time5 to 7 minutes

Ingredients

3 large tomatoes, or 6 small tomatoes
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons fine dry breadcrumbs
Category:Fruits and Vegetables

Directions

Prepare

Wash tomatoes and cut off stem ends.
Cut large tomatoes in 1-inch slices; cut small tomatoes in half crosswise.
Place cut side up on broiler pan.

Season and broil

Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Dot each slice with butter.
Sprinkle with bread crumbs.
Broil until tomatoes are soft and the bread crumbs are light brown, 5 to 7 minutes.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

705Calories

14 gProtein

27 gFat

101 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Vegetable	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Fruit	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

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.

Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together85,593 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Tomato + buttertop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,918 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

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 juice, which softens and concentrates under the heat.
Butter or margarine: Adds fat that carries flavor and helps the breadcrumbs brown evenly.
Fine dry breadcrumbs: Form a crisp topping that browns under the broiler's direct heat.

The step that matters

Broil until tomatoes are soft and the bread crumbs are light brown. Broiling is fast and intense, so the topping can scorch before the tomatoes soften. Watch closely and check at the low end of the 5 to 7 minute range.

Swap the tomato

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

Capsicumfits better
Potatofits better
Carrotfits about as well
Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, butter. 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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Broiled Tomatoes