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 Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Make the tomato base
Cook the tomatoes for 10 minutes with a pinch of baking soda if they are very acidic.
Add the salt and strain the mixture through a sieve.
Soak the gelatin in the cold water, then add it to the tomato mixture.
Set and serve
Mold the mixture and refrigerate until congealed.
Serve on lettuce with mayonnaise dressing.
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 + lettucetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,655 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Gelatin + lettucetop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together128 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Tomato + gelatintop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-nonanal (fatty, waxy).
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, flavor and acidity of the jelly.
- Gelatin
- Sets the tomato liquid into a firm, sliceable jelly as it cools.
- Baking soda
- Neutralizes some of the tomatoes' acidity, mellowing the flavor.
The step that matters
Adding the gelatin. Gelatin must be fully softened in cold water and dissolved into the warm tomato mixture before molding. If it is left in lumps or added to a mixture that is too cold, it will not set evenly and the jelly may come out grainy or weak.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (gelatin, lettuce):
- Beetrootfits better
- Cucumberfits better
- Mustardfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against gelatin, lettuce. 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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