Why it works: Potato and tomato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,798 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Chicken Soup
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the stock
Boil the bones and skin of the chicken slowly until the bones are dry.
Strain the stock and let it cool.
Once cool, remove all fat from the stock.
Finish the soup
For a white soup, add milk, butter, and cold mashed potatoes to the stock.
For a clear soup, add canned tomatoes and any vegetables you like.
To make croutons, butter slices of bread, cut them into half‑inch squares, and brown them in a 350°F (175°C) oven.
Sprinkle croutons on the soup just 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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Potato + tomatotop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,798 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Chicken + potatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,756 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-decenal (green, must).
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Chicken + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,031 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
- Bones and skin of a cold roast chicken
- Simmered slowly to build the flavour of the stock.
- Milk
- Adds richness and creaminess to the white soup.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and helps the bread brown in the croutons.
- Cold mashed potatoes
- Thickens the white soup and gives it body.
- Canned tomatoes
- Adds acidity and colour to the clear soup.
- Slices of bread
- Become crisp, browned croutons for texture on top of the soup.
The step that matters
Remove all fat from the stock once cool. Fat that is not skimmed off stays liquid while warm and can float on the soup as greasy droplets. Chilling the stock makes the fat solidify on the surface so it lifts off cleanly.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, milk, butter, potato, bread):
- Tomatothe original
- Onionfits about as well
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Capsicumfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, milk, butter, potato, 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.
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