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 ↓
Baked Tomatoes
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.
Wash the tomatoes and cut a piece from the stem end, about the size of a quarter.
Add ¼ teaspoon of salt, ⅛ teaspoon of pepper, and 1 tablespoon of butter to each tomato.
Place the tomatoes in a baking dish and bake at 350°F (175°C) for nearly 1 hour.
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 + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Tomato + buttertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Form the main body of the dish, softening as they bake and releasing juices into the dish.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, carrying flavour and helping the tops and surfaces brown in the oven.
The step that matters
Baking the tomatoes until just tender. Tomatoes are mostly water, so baking long enough softens the flesh and concentrates the juices. Baking too long can collapse the tomatoes and make them watery, so check them near the end of the time.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, butter):
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatofits better
- Carrotfits about as well
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, butter. 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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