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Crab Tomato Soup

A hearty soup made with tomatoes, barley, ham hocks, beef bone, and crab, simmered with herbs and vegetables.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 17 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,810 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Crab Tomato Soup

Time1 hour, then 30 minutes, then 10 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the broth

  1. Combine the water, tomatoes, tomato sauce, bay leaves, barley, parsley, Old Bay seasoning, celery, onion, ham hocks, beef bone, salt and pepper in a large soup pot.

  2. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour.

  3. Add the crabs and backs and continue cooking for another 30 minutes.

Add the vegetables and crab

  1. Add the cabbage, potatoes and mixed vegetables.

  2. When the vegetables are tender, remove the ham hocks and pick the meat off the bone.

  3. Return the picked meat to the soup.

  4. Discard the bay leaves and backs.

  5. Add the claw meat and simmer 10 minutes longer.

  6. Serve at once.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1601Calories
126 gProtein
49 gFat
170 gCarbs

Counts 20 of 22 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 20 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Pork100g cooked242
Barley1 cup cooked (157g)193
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Vegetable1 tbsp (14g)120
Lima Bean1/2 cup (85g) cooked108
Shrimp100g cooked99
Blue Crab100g cooked97
Corn1/2 cup kernels (82g)77
Pea1/2 cup (72g)62
Broccoli1 cup chopped (156g)55
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0
Meatnot in our table0

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.

  1. Parsley + celerytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,810 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  3. Barley + celerytop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together571 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).

  4. Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

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

  5. Barley + beeftop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together458 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

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

What each ingredient does

Blue crabs
Release rich shellfish flavor into the broth as they cook.
Ham hocks
Add smoky, savory depth and body to the broth.
Pearl barley
Thickens the soup slightly and adds a chewy texture.
Tomatoes
Provide acidity, body and a bright red base to the broth.
Potatoes
Add starch that softens and gives the soup substance.
Claw crab meat
Adds sweet, tender lumps of crab meat at the end.

The step that matters

Adding the claw crab meat last. Crab meat is already cooked and turns tough and stringy if simmered too long, so it is added near the end and only heated through.

Swap the parsley

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, sauce, barley, celery, onion, ham, beef):

  1. Thymefits about as well
  2. Garlicfits about as well
  3. Capersfits about as well
  4. Parsleythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, sauce, barley, celery, onion, ham, beef. 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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