Name: Fried Ham, with Tomatas
Ingredients: slices of cold boiled ham; tomatoes; pepper

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 ↓

Fried Ham, with Tomatas

Ingredients

slices of cold boiled ham
tomatoes
pepper

Directions

Fry the slices of cold boiled ham in a skillet until heated through.
Fry the tomatoes in the same skillet until softened, using one tomato for each slice of ham.
Place the fried tomatoes on top of the ham slices.
Sprinkle pepper over the tomatoes and serve immediately.

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.

Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ham + tomatotop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together348 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Ham + peppertop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together6,058 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cold boiled ham: Provides the savoury meaty base that is heated through in the skillet.
Tomatoes: Soften in the hot pan, adding moisture and gentle acidity to the dish.