Why it works: Cabbage and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,081 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Stuffed Baked 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 tomatoes
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cut a thin slice from the blossom end of each tomato and scoop out the pulp without breaking the rind.
Make the filling
In a bowl, mix the chopped cabbage, onion, bread crumbs, and tomato pulp.
Season the mixture with pepper, coarse sea salt, sugar, and cream.
Bake and serve
Fill the tomato shells with the mixture and replace the tops.
Place the tomatoes in a buttered baking dish.
Add enough water to the dish to prevent burning.
Top each tomato with a small lump of butter.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until well done.
Add another bit of butter on each tomato before serving.
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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Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,081 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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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Cabbage + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,001 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tomatoes
- Serve as the edible shell that holds the filling while baking.
- Cabbage
- Adds bulk and a mild, tender vegetable texture to the filling.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb moisture from the pulp and cream, helping the filling hold its shape.
- Cream
- Adds richness and moisture, keeping the filling soft during baking.
- Onion
- Contributes savory aroma and flavour as it softens in the filling.
The step that matters
Add water to the baking dish. Water in the dish keeps the tomatoes from scorching on the bottom and helps them cook gently while the filling sets.
Swap the cabbage
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, onion, bread, pepper, sugar, cream, butter):
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatofits better
- Leekfits better
- Cabbagethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, onion, bread, pepper, sugar, cream, butter. 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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