Name: Chops with Macaroni and Tomatoes
Ingredients: 1 package (5 oz) macaroni; 1 can tomatoes; 5 or 6 pork chops; 2 tablespoons butter; 1/2 onion, chopped; Coarse sea salt, to taste; Black pepper, to taste

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 ↓

Chops with Macaroni and Tomatoes

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare the base

Boil the macaroni in salted water until tender, then drain.
In a baking dish, combine the macaroni and tomatoes.

Brown the pork

In a skillet, melt the butter and brown the pork chops with the chopped onion.

Bake and serve

Place the browned chops on top of the macaroni and tomatoes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

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.

Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,633 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Pork + oniontop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,214 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + porktop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,843 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together68,474 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Macaroni: Forms the starchy base that soaks up tomato juices and holds the dish together.
Tomatoes: Provide moisture and acidity that keep the macaroni saucy as it bakes.
Pork chops: Supply the main protein, and browning them first adds savory flavor to the dish.
Butter: Adds fat for browning the pork chops and enriches the flavor.
Onion: Adds sweetness and aroma as it softens and browns with the pork.

The step that matters

Brown the pork chops before baking. Browning creates flavor through the Maillard reaction, which baking in moist tomatoes does not produce. Searing also helps the chops keep their juices and gives the onion color.

Swap the tomato

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

Potatofits better
Capsicumfits better
Chivefits about as well
Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pork, butter, onion, pepper. 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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Roast Pork82 recipes

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Chops with Macaroni and Tomatoes