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Devilled Tomatoes

Sautéed tomato slices topped with a butter‑based dressing of egg, mustard, sugar, vinegar, and spices.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Fannie Merritt Farmer · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 12 ingredients
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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 ↓

Devilled Tomatoes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the tomatoes

  1. Wipe, peel, and cut tomatoes into slices.

  2. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, and sauté in butter.

  3. Place the tomatoes on a hot platter.

Make the dressing

  1. Cream the butter, add dry ingredients, yolk of egg rubbed to a paste, egg beaten slightly, and vinegar to make the dressing.

  2. Cook the dressing over hot water, stirring constantly until it thickens.

  3. Pour the dressing over the tomatoes.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

724Calories
21 gProtein
19 gFat
116 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Cayenne1 tsp (1.8g)6
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 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.

By Fannie Merritt Farmer. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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.

  1. Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,067 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,430 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Tomato + mustardtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,482 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

Butter
Adds richness and flavour to the sautéed tomatoes and the creamed dressing.
Egg yolks
Emulsify and thicken the dressing as it cooks gently over hot water.
Egg
Thickens the dressing as it cooks, adding body and structure.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour of the dressing.
Mustard
Adds sharp, pungent flavour that balances the richness of the dressing.
Flour
Dredges the tomato slices, helping them brown lightly in the butter.

The step that matters

Cook the dressing over hot water, stirring constantly until it thickens. Egg proteins set with gentle heat, and constant stirring keeps them from clumping or scrambling. Overheating curdles the dressing, so keep the water hot rather than boiling and stir steadily.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, flour, butter, sugar, mustard, egg, vinegar):

  1. Shallotfits better
  2. Horseradishfits better
  3. Chivefits better
  4. Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, flour, butter, sugar, mustard, egg, vinegar. 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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