Why it works: Tomato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Stewed Tomatoes
5 personsIngredients
Directions
Stew the tomatoes
Slice the tomatoes into a lined saucepan, season with pepper and salt, and place small pieces of butter on them.
Cover the lid closely and stew for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tomatoes are tender.
Add the vinegar, stir two or three times, and serve with roast meat.
Add the gravy and finish
Take out the stalks of the tomatoes and put them into a wide stewpan.
Pour over them the good brown gravy.
Stew gently until tender, occasionally turning them.
Thicken the gravy with a little butter and flour worked together on a plate; let it just boil up after the thickening is added.
Serve on a silver or plated vegetable dish.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Cayenne | 1 tsp (1.8g) | 6 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 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.
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 + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Vinegar + tomatotop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,063 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tomatoes
- Main vegetable that softens during stewing and gives the dish its body and juices.
- Gravy
- Adds savoury depth and liquid that the tomatoes stew in.
- Vinegar
- Adds a sharp acidity that brightens the rich tomato and gravy flavours.
- Flour (in the method)
- Starch that swells when heated, thickening the gravy into a smoother sauce.
- Butter (in the method)
- Adds richness and helps bind the flour into the gravy for a silky texture.
The step that matters
Boiling up after thickening. Flour must be fully worked into the butter before it goes into the gravy, to avoid lumps. Starch thickens only when heated, and a brief boil swells the granules fully and cooks out the raw flour taste.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardfits better
- Cabbagefits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, 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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