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Tomato Rarebit

A savory tomato and cheese topping served over toast or crackers.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Martin, Maria Ewing, Mrs., [from old catalog] comp · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 16 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and cheese are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,962 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Tomato Rarebit

6 hot dishes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the tomato base

  1. Put 1 tablespoon butter in a chafing dish or saucepan and brown 1 small chopped onion.

  2. Add 1 cup thick, canned tomato, 1 teaspoon salt, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and a pinch of sugar.

  3. Stir until it boils.

  4. Add 4 tablespoons grated cheese and 3 raw eggs.

  5. Stir, and as soon as the eggs are done, serve on crackers or small slices of toast.

Prepare the bacon and cheese

  1. Put several thin slices of bacon in a frying pan and fry several minutes on each side.

  2. Put them on a baking plate in the oven and cover with slices of cheese, with bits of butter on top.

  3. Bake 5 or 10 minutes or till the cheese is thoroughly melted.

  4. Serve immediately.

Make the ale cheese

  1. Put 1 gill Bass's ale in a saucepan with 1 tablespoon Worcester‑shire sauce and 1 saltspoon cayenne pepper.

  2. As soon as it boils briskly, add 1 pound rich grated cheese and stir until melted and very hot.

  3. Have 6 slices of hot fresh toast on 6 hot dishes, pour the cheese over the pieces of toast, and serve immediately.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

357Calories
15 gProtein
27 gFat
15 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Cayenne1 tsp (1.8g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Saucenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Martin, Maria Ewing, Mrs., [from old catalog] comp. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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 their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,962 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together15,338 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Butter + oniontop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together42,912 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Cheese + oniontop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,849 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Butter and sauce barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 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

Eggs
Set the tomato and cheese mixture into a creamy, thickened sauce when heated.
Cheese
Melts into the sauce, providing richness, body and savory flavor.
Canned tomato (in the method)
Adds acidity and fruity flavor that balances the rich cheese.
Bass's ale
Thins the cheese mixture and adds a malty, slightly bitter flavor.
Onion
Browned in butter to add sweetness and aroma to the base.

The step that matters

Stir the eggs in gently over heat. Eggs thicken when heated but scramble if they get too hot or are overcooked, so the sauce turns grainy instead of smooth and creamy.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, cheese, sauce, pepper, egg):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Mustardfits better
  3. Asparagusfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, cheese, sauce, pepper, egg. 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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