Name: Tomatoes and Mushrooms
Ingredients: 1 cup bread crumbs; 1 cup tomato sauce; 6 tomatoes; 1 onion; six tomatoes; 95 fruits

Why it works: Tomato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 20,633 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Tomatoes and Mushrooms

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Wash and peel six tomatoes; slice them.
Sauté one can of mushrooms in butter.

Assemble and bake

Arrange alternating layers of sliced tomatoes and sautéed mushrooms in a baking dish.
Pour tomato sauce seasoned with onion over the layers.
Sprinkle buttered breadcrumbs on top.
Bake until browned.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

521Calories

15 gProtein

2 gFat

110 gCarbs

Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 3 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Fruit	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.

By Mary Elizabeth Lyles Wilson (1860–1924). 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.

Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,633 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Bread + tomatotop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,013 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Tomato + saucetop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together5,469 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Bread + oniontop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,676 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Sauce + oniontop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together10,474 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Sauce and onion barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 10,474 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: Release juice as they cook, adding moisture and a bright acidity to the layers.
Tomato sauce: Adds moisture and flavor that soaks into the layers as the casserole bakes.
Bread crumbs: Form a topping that browns and turns crisp in the oven.
Onion: Adds savory aroma and depth to the tomato sauce.