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 ↓
Baked Tomatoes
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Skin the tomatoes by pouring boiling water over them until covered.
Place the tomatoes in an earthenware dish.
Top each tomato with a walnut-sized piece of butter, salt, and pepper, then dredge with flour.
Bake and make the sauce
Cover the dish and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 1.5 to 2 hours, depending on size and ripeness.
Remove the cover and bake for an additional 15 to 30 minutes.
If there is juice, dip it out and mix with butter, flour, and salt to make a sauce; pour over the tomatoes.
If there is no juice, make a sauce with butter and flour stirred smooth with a little boiling water.
Each medium tomato requires ½ teaspoon butter, ½ teaspoon flour, 2 teaspoons boiling water, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
The tomatoes should be soft and juicy but not broken; brown them with breadcrumbs under a hot stove lid if desired.
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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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,338 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Tomato + saucetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,469 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + saucetop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,078 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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
- Ripe tomatoes
- Form the main body of the dish; they soften and release juices as they bake.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture, melting over the tomatoes and into the sauce.
- Flour
- Dredged on top and stirred into the sauce to thicken the buttery juices.
The step that matters
Baking until the tomatoes are soft but not broken. Baking time depends on size and ripeness, so the tomatoes can overcook and collapse or stay firm. Checking softness and keeping them whole gives a juicy result with a stable shape.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, pepper, flour, sauce):
- Shallotfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Chivefits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, pepper, flour, sauce. 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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