Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Fried and Broiled Tomatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the tomatoes
Cut firm, large, ripe tomatoes into thick slices, rather more than a quarter of an inch thick.
Season the tomato slices with salt and pepper.
Dredge the slices well with flour, or roll them in egg and crumbs.
Cook and serve
Fry the slices brown on both sides evenly, in hot butter and lard mixed.
Alternatively, broil the slices on a well-greased gridiron, seasoning afterward like beefsteak.
Prepare a sauce by whisking a pint of milk, a tablespoonful of flour, one beaten egg, salt, pepper, and a little mace; cream an ounce of butter, whisk into the mixture, and let it simmer until it thickens.
Pour the sauce onto a hot side-dish and arrange the tomatoes in the centre.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| 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.
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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 (in the method)
- Form the main body of the dish, softening into juicy slices when cooked.
- Flour
- Forms a light coating that browns during frying and thickens the milk sauce.
- Butter
- Adds fat for frying and richness to the sauce, helping the slices brown evenly.
- Egg
- Binds the crumb coating and helps thicken the sauce as it sets.
- Milk
- Forms the base of the sauce, which thickens as it simmers with flour and egg.
The step that matters
Fry the slices brown on both sides evenly. Thick tomato slices hold a lot of water. Frying them in hot fat sears the surface quickly, driving off moisture and browning the coating, while a cooler pan lets them steam and turn soggy.
“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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