Name: Tomatoes, Stewed
Ingredients: 1 peck (about 9-10 medium) tomatoes, not overripe, pink color; 3 large white-skinned onions, peeled and sliced; 2 tablespoons fresh butter; 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar; 2 teaspoons salt; 1 pinch pepper; 1 pint bread, cut into small pieces

Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Tomatoes, Stewed

Ingredients

1 peck (about 9-10 medium) tomatoes, not overripe, pink color
3 large white-skinned onions, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons fresh butter
1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 pinch pepper
1 pint bread, cut into small pieces

Directions

In a large deep skillet, combine the onions and ½ cup of water. Cook for 20 minutes.
Scald the tomatoes, peel, and cut them up. Add them to the skillet with the onions.
Stir in the butter, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cook for 30 minutes.
Add the bread and cook for an additional 30 minutes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,633 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + breadtop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,013 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together68,474 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 main body, moisture and acidity that form the stewed sauce.
Onions: Soften during cooking and add savory sweetness to the stew.
Bread: Absorbs liquid and thickens the stewed tomatoes as it cooks.
Butter: Adds fat and richness to the finished stew.
Sugar: Balances the acidity of the tomatoes with sweetness.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, butter, sugar, pepper, bread):

Capsicumfits better
Potatofits better
Sweet potatofits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, butter, sugar, pepper, bread. 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.