Why it works: Tomato and lettuce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,655 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Tomato Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Peel the tomatoes without scalding them and chill on ice until very cold.
Wash and dry the lettuce leaves.
Serve
When ready to serve, cut the tomatoes in halves.
Place one half on a leaf of lettuce.
Top with 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise or cooked dressing and serve immediately.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + lettucetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,655 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 fresh, juicy body and mild acidity that form the salad's base.
- Crisp lettuce leaves
- Hold each tomato half and add a cool, crisp contrast in texture.
- Mayonnaise or cooked dressing
- Adds fat and richness that softens the sharp, acidic tomato flavour.
The step that matters
Peel the tomatoes without scalding them, then chill until very cold. Scalding partly cooks the flesh and softens it, so the tomato loses firmness and fresh flavour. Thorough chilling firms the flesh and keeps it cool and crisp until serving.
“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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