Why it works: Tomato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 17,923 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the soup
Add one pint of canned tomatoes, or four large raw tomatoes cut fine, to a pot.
Add one quart boiling water and let them boil.
Add one teaspoonful of soda; when it foams, immediately add one pint of sweet milk, salt, pepper, and plenty of butter.
When this boils, add eight small crackers rolled fine and serve.
Optional garnish
For extra flavor, fry stale bread cut into thin slices in drippings or lard, salt it, cut into dice-shaped pieces, and serve in the soup when dished up.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + milktop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,226 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Milk + peppertop 22% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together26,984 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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, acidity and flavor of the soup.
- Baking soda
- Neutralizes tomato acidity and causes foaming that lightens the mixture.
- Sweet milk
- Adds richness and creaminess, softening the tomato's sharp taste.
- Crackers
- Absorb liquid and thicken the soup as they soften.
The step that matters
Adding the soda to the tomatoes. Baking soda reacts strongly with tomato acid and foams. Adding the milk right after, before the mixture is fully settled, keeps the reaction controlled and prevents curdling from too much heat too fast.
“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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