Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 81,283 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Tomato Soup Made in Fifteen Minutes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the soup
Pass the tomatoes through a colander.
Boil the tomatoes for 3 minutes.
Add the baking soda and boil until it stops foaming, stirring constantly.
Finish and serve
Stir in the crushed crackers, butter, salt, cayenne pepper, and boiling milk.
Boil for 5 minutes, then serve.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + milktop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,226 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Tomato + buttertop 22% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together6,918 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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, flavour and acidity of the soup.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel to the soup.
- Butter crackers
- Thicken the soup as they absorb liquid and soften.
- Milk
- Mellows the acidity and gives the soup a creamy texture.
- Baking soda
- Neutralises some of the tomato acidity, causing foaming as it reacts.
The step that matters
Adding the baking soda. Baking soda reacts with the tomato acid and releases carbon dioxide, so it foams up quickly. Adding it too fast or without constant stirring can cause the mixture to boil over, and stirring keeps the reaction even.
“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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