Why it works: Pepper and thyme are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,585 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
In a large pot, combine the beef or shank-bone with 3 quarts of water.
Season with pepper and coarse sea salt.
Bring to a boil and skim off any foam.
Add the quartered tomatoes, chopped onion, and thyme.
Boil until the tomatoes are completely dissolved.
If desired, thicken the soup with rice, flour, or vermicelli.
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.
-
Pepper + thymetop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,585 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Tomato + thymetop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,370 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Tomato + ricetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,065 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + thymetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,171 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef or shank-bone
- Gives the broth its meaty body and savory flavor as it simmers.
- Ripe tomatoes
- Break down during boiling to supply the soup's main body, flavor, and acidity.
- Onion
- Adds aromatic sweetness and savory depth to the broth.
- Rice, flour, or vermicelli
- Optional starches that thicken the soup as they cook or dissolve.
The step that matters
Boil until the tomatoes are completely dissolved. Tomatoes need a sustained boil to break down fully, so the soup becomes smooth and well-blended rather than chunky and thin in flavor.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, pepper, tomato, thyme, rice):
- Capsicumfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Potatofits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, pepper, tomato, thyme, rice. 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.
More tomato soup recipes
You might also like
Roast Beef211 recipes
Beef Loaf175 recipes
Corned Beef87 recipes
Rice Fritters84 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.