Name: Vodka-spiked Gazpacho
Ingredients: 2 pounds ripe tomatoes cored and chopped; 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar; 1 small red onion chopped; 2 scallions chopped; 1 hot or mild green chill chopped; 2 garlic cloves finely minced; 1 small cucumber chopped; ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves; 2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves; juice of 1 lime; ¼ cup olive oil; ¼ cup vodka; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1 ripe avocado sliced

Why it works: Basil and vodka work together. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and 35 recipes mention both. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

Basil + vodkatop 16% of all pairs

Aroma overlaplow

Mentioned together35 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together29,030 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Tomato + basiltop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together3,979 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Tomato + coriandertop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together3,966 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Tomato + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together14,075 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

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

What each ingredient does

Ripe tomatoes: Form the main body and liquid base of the soup.
Olive oil: Adds fat and a smooth, rounded mouthfeel to the soup.
Red-wine vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the flavour of the tomatoes.
Vodka: Adds a little alcohol that carries aroma and flavour through the soup.
Avocado: Adds creamy richness and fat as a garnish.

Flavor stand-ins for the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, wine, vinegar, garlic, cucumber, coriander, basil):

Capsicumbetter flavor fit
Broccolibetter flavor fit
Eggplantbetter flavor fit
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, wine, vinegar, garlic, cucumber, coriander, basil. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

“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.