Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Combine one quart of tomatoes, one quart of water, and one quart of sweet milk in a pot.
Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for twenty minutes.
Stir in a large spoonful of butter and an equal amount of flour, rubbing them together well.
Add a little nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste.
Add a dessert spoonful of soda and stir until it foams.
Add the milk and some rolled crackers, then bring to a boil again.
Serve immediately.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | 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.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Nutmeg + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together13,015 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Tomato + milktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,226 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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 acidity of the soup.
- Sweet milk
- Adds richness and a creamy body to the soup.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness to the soup.
- Flour (in the method)
- Thickens the soup when rubbed with butter.
- Soda (in the method)
- Reacts with the acidic tomatoes, causing foaming and altering flavor and color.
The step that matters
Adding the soda. Baking soda reacts strongly with acid, so adding it to acidic tomatoes makes the soup foam vigorously. Add it slowly and stir, and be aware it can curdle the milk if it is added with the milk.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, butter, nutmeg, pepper):
- Potatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Spinachfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, butter, nutmeg, pepper. 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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