Tomato Sauce

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. Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together20,633 recipes

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

3. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together68,474 recipes

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

4. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together124,287 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

5. Butter + oniontop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together42,912 recipes

   Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Butter and flour 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

Carries the onion's flavor and adds richness to the sauce.

Flour

Thickens the sauce as its starch swells in the hot liquid.

Stewed tomatoes

Form the sauce's main body and provide its acidity and tomato flavor.

Minced onion

Adds aroma and some sweetness as it browns in the butter.

The step that matters

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, onion, pepper):

1. Chivefits better
2. Okrafits better
3. Leekfits better
4. Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, onion, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.