Tomato Soup with Stock

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. Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together10,173 recipes

   Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

2. Clove + thymetop 2% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together4,108 recipes

   Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

3. Thyme + carrottop 3% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together4,563 recipes

   Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

4. Thyme + celerytop 3% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together3,193 recipes

   Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

5. Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together3,377 recipes

   Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Tomatoes

Provide the main acidic flavor and body of the soup.

Butter

Carries aromatic flavors and gives the soup a rich mouthfeel.

Flour

Thickens the soup as its starch swells in the hot fat and liquid.

Brown soup stock

Forms the main liquid and adds savory depth to the soup.

Onion

Becomes sweeter and more aromatic as it cooks slowly in butter.

Raw ham

Adds savory, salty flavor to the vegetable base.

The step that matters

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, clove, thyme, butter, flour, carrot, celery):

1. Parsnipfits better
2. Leekfits better
3. Turnipfits better
4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, clove, thyme, butter, flour, carrot, celery. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.