Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Creole Tomatoes
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the tomatoes
Cut the tomatoes in half crosswise and lay cut side up in a baking pan.
Sprinkle the tomatoes with finely chopped onion and green peppers, removing seeds and veins.
Season the tomatoes with salt and cayenne pepper.
Place a small piece of butter on each tomato half, using 2 tablespoons total.
Pour ½ cup of water into the pan and bake at 400°F (200°C) until the tomatoes are tender.
Make the sauce
Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and brown the flour in it.
Add milk and cream, along with the liquid from the baking pan.
Stir until boiling and cook for 3 minutes longer.
Serve
Serve the tomatoes on squares of toast and pour the sauce around them.
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.
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Tomatoes
- Provide the main body and juice that softens and flavours the sauce base.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, carrying flavour across the tomatoes and the roux.
- Flour
- Browned in butter to thicken the sauce into a smooth, cohesive texture.
- Milk and cream
- Dairy that turns the tomato liquid into a creamy, mellow sauce.
- Green peppers
- Add a fresh, slightly bitter vegetable note and aroma to the tomatoes.
The step that matters
Browning the flour in butter. Flour cooked in fat must be stirred steadily; if it scorches it turns bitter, and if it is added too cold it forms lumps. Cooking the raw starch taste out before adding liquid gives a smooth, well-flavoured sauce.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, onion, flour, pepper, milk, cream):
- Potatofits better
- Leekfits better
- Chivefits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, onion, flour, pepper, milk, cream. 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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