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Stewed Tomatoes

Stewed tomatoes are cooked tomatoes simmered with butter, salt, pepper, and served over toast.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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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 ↓

Stewed Tomatoes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the tomatoes

  1. Scald the tomatoes by pouring water over them.

  2. Peel, slice, and remove any defective parts.

Cook

  1. In a hot skillet, melt a lump of butter.

  2. Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.

  3. Cook over brisk heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve

  1. Serve immediately in a deep dish lined with toast.

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.

  1. Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  3. Tomato + buttertop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked 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

Fresh tomatoes
Provide the main body and juice that form the stewed sauce as they soften with heat.
Butter
Adds fat and richness to the pan, carrying flavour and helping the tomatoes brown lightly.
Toast
Forms a base that soaks up the tomato juices when served.

The step that matters

Cook over brisk heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Brisk heat and regular stirring drive off excess water so the juices reduce and thicken rather than pooling. Stirring keeps the tomatoes from sticking and scorching on the bottom of the pan.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Potatofits better
  3. Carrotfits about as well
  4. Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, pepper. 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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