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 to cover.
Place the tomatoes in an earthenware dish.
Top each tomato with a walnut of butter, a large pinch of salt, and a dust of pepper.
Dredge the tomatoes with flour.
Bake and finish
Cover the dish and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 1.5 to 2 hours, depending on the size and ripeness of the tomatoes.
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 rich sauce.
If there is no juice, make a sauce with butter and flour stirred smooth with a little boiling water.
Pour the sauce over the tomatoes and serve hot.
Brown the tomatoes by sprinkling with bread crumbs and holding a hot stove-lid over 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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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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Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Tomato + buttertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,918 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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, softening into a juicy, tender base as they bake.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture, and helps the sauce and surface brown.
- Flour
- Thickens the pan juices into a smooth sauce.
The step that matters
Brown the tomatoes with a hot lid. Browning depends on direct, high heat on the surface, which the oven alone may not supply. Bread crumbs help form a crisp, golden crust, so hold the hot lid close enough to brown without scorching.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, pepper, flour):
- Shallotfits better
- Chivefits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, pepper, flour. 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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