Why it works: Cream and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and 2,034 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-nonanone, which smells fruity, floral. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: milk, wheat, tree nuts (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Also mentioned in the method: wheat, almond
Directions
Make the gluten mush
Heat together a cup of thin cream and three cups of water.
When boiling, sift in lightly with the fingers, stirring continuously meanwhile, enough wheat gluten to make a mush of the desired consistency.
Boil up once and serve.
A few blanched or roasted almonds may be stirred in just before serving, if desired.
Make the tomato version
Heat a pint of stewed tomato, which has been rubbed through a fine colander to remove the seeds, to boiling.
Add salt to season, and three tablespoonfuls of gluten meal.
Boil together for a moment until thickened, and serve hot.
Prepare the same as the preceding, using five tablespoonfuls of the gluten meal, and seasoning with two tablespoonfuls of rather thick, sweet cream.
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.
-
Cream + tomatotop 21% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together2,034 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Wheat gluten meal
- Thickens the liquid into a mush as it cooks, giving the dish its body.
- Thin cream
- Adds richness and a soft, smooth texture to the mush.
- Stewed tomato
- Provides acidity and a tomato flavor as the base of the second version.
The step that matters
Sifting in the gluten meal. Sprinkle it in slowly while stirring constantly so it disperses evenly. Dumping it in at once forms lumps that do not smooth out, and the mush thickens unevenly.
“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.
You might also like
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
IllustrationThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.