Why it works: Egg and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 33% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 50,580 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Tomatoes with Egg
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the tomatoes
Drain the water from a can of tomatoes.
Press the tomatoes through a colander.
Put the tomatoes into a saucepan over the fire.
Season and cook
Season with salt and pepper, a little sugar, if acid, and a few drops of onion juice.
Let them cook a little.
Thicken with egg
Just before serving, add the well-beaten yolks of two eggs.
Stir well until it thickens.
Remove immediately from the fire or it will curdle.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| 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.
-
Egg + peppertop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together50,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 50,580 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
- Yolks thicken the tomato mixture as they gently set with heat, giving it a smooth, creamy body.
- Tomatoes (in the method)
- Provide the main body and acidity of the dish, which the cooked mixture is built on.
The step that matters
Remove immediately from the fire once the egg is added. Egg proteins set with heat and will curdle if the mixture overheats or cooks too long after the yolks go in. Taking it off the heat as soon as it thickens keeps the sauce smooth.
“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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