Why it works: Nutmeg and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 13,015 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the soup
Add the contents of a quart can of tomatoes to one quart of water and boil for twenty minutes.
Strain through a sieve.
Add one pint of cream (or rich milk), a lump of butter the size of an egg, and a tablespoonful of flour, rubbed together.
Add this to the soup and boil for five minutes.
Add one-half nutmeg grated, salt, and pepper to taste.
Serve
Serve.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| 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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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).
-
Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,920 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Tomato + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together879 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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 flavour of the soup.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, silky texture to the soup.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, rounding out the flavour of the soup.
- Flour (in the method)
- Thickens the soup slightly when rubbed with butter and added to the liquid.
The step that matters
Adding the cream and flour mixture. Flour rubbed with butter and added to hot liquid can clump if not stirred in well. Boiling cream vigorously can also cause it to curdle or separate, so keep the heat controlled once it is added.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, nutmeg, butter, egg, pepper):
- Spinachfits better
- Potatofits better
- Leekfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, nutmeg, butter, egg, 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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