Why it works: Celery and parsley 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 ↓
Tomato Puree
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Put the tomatoes into a saucepan with the brown stock, bay leaf, parsley, celery, and sugar; simmer thoroughly.
Put the onions and butter into a sauté pan, and when the onion is thoroughly done — but not brown — add a tablespoonful of flour, and put all with the tomatoes; season with salt and pepper.
Finish and serve
Pass the whole through a fine sieve, heat again, and serve.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Celery | 1 stalk (40g) | 6 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Bay Leaf | 1 leaf (0.6g) | 2 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
| 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.
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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Celery + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,810 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Parsley + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16,675 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Tomatoes (in the method)
- Form the main body and flavour of the puree once simmered and sieved.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness to the onion base, carrying flavour through the sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the puree, giving it body as it cooks with the liquid.
- Brown stock
- Supplies the liquid that cooks the tomatoes and adds savoury depth.
The step that matters
Cooking the onion without browning it. Onions cooked until golden change the colour and taste of the puree; cooking them gently until soft keeps the sauce pale and sweet-tasting.
Swap the celery
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, parsley, butter, flour, pepper):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cinnamonfits better
- Thymefits better
- Celerythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, parsley, butter, flour, 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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