Why it works: Flour and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and 50,459 recipes mention both. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Ripe Tomatoes Fried
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the tomatoes
Cut the ripe tomatoes in halves.
Place them in a baking dish skin side down.
Place small pieces of butter over the tomatoes.
Dust with salt and pepper.
Stand in the oven for ten minutes.
Fry and serve
Then place over the fire and fry slowly in butter.
Do not turn the tomatoes.
When done, lift with a cake turner and place on a hot platter.
Add a tablespoon of flour to the butter left in the pan and mix until smooth.
Add a cup of cream, stir continually until smooth, season with salt and pepper.
Pour the sauce over the tomatoes and serve.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
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.
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Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + creamtop 20% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
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Cream + peppertop 23% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together21,449 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Cream and pepper share little aroma chemistry, yet 21,449 recipes mention both: they likely 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
- Tomatoes (in the method)
- Main ingredient that softens and browns on the surface while frying in butter.
- Butter (in the method)
- Fat that conducts heat for frying and forms the base of the pan sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the butter and pan juices into a smooth sauce with cream.
- Cream
- Adds richness and body, giving the sauce a smooth, thick texture.
The step that matters
Stirring the flour and butter before adding cream. Flour must be cooked smoothly into the butter to form a roux; stirring continually as cream is added prevents lumps and lets the sauce thicken evenly.
“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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