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 ↓
Tomato Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Combine the sliced tomatoes and chopped hard-boiled eggs in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix the beaten raw egg, salt, cayenne pepper, sugar, and vinegar.
Assemble and serve
Pour the dressing over the tomatoes and eggs.
Chill the salad on ice until perfectly cold 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.
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 + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Tomato + vinegartop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,063 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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 juicy moisture of the salad.
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Add firm, mild protein bulk that contrasts with the juicy tomatoes.
- Raw egg
- Thickens the dressing as it is gently set, giving it a creamy body.
- Vinegar
- Adds sharp acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the sweetness.
- Sugar
- Softens the acidity of the vinegar for a rounder, balanced flavor.
The step that matters
Mixing the raw egg into the dressing. Raw egg thickens only if it is beaten smooth and combined with the acid gently and evenly; lumps or overheating would leave a grainy dressing, so beat it well before pouring it over the salad.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, pepper, sugar, vinegar):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardfits better
- Cucumberfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, pepper, sugar, vinegar. 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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