Name: Ojai Canned Tomato Salad
Ingredients: 16 ounce can whole tomatoes drained; ¼ cup fresh lemon juice; 2 tablespoons brown sugar; ½ teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Why it works: Lemon and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,047 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓

Ojai Canned Tomato Salad

Timeat least two hours

Ingredients

16 ounce can whole tomatoes drained
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Place tomatoes in a dish and sprinkle with lemon juice, brown sugar, salt, and pepper.
Refrigerate at least two hours before serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

89Calories

2 gProtein

0 gFat

23 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
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.

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.

Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together27,047 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + lemontop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,592 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together53,532 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar + peppertop 32% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together19,401 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Lemon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Whole tomatoes: Provide the main body and juices that mix with the seasonings to form the salad's liquid.
Lemon juice: Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and balances the sweetness.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and a hint of molasses flavor that rounds out the acidity.