Why it works: Pepper and tomato 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 ↓
Veal Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the stock
Prepare the stock a day before by placing the veal bone and dry roast bits in cold water.
Cook slowly for 2 hours or more.
Strain and cool the stock.
The next morning, remove all the fat from the stock.
Finish the soup
Heat the stock with a slice of onion, pepper, and coarse sea salt.
Add ½ cup of tomato juice and ⅓ cup of Italian paste.
Boil for 30 minutes.
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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Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Veal + oniontop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,841 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Veal + tomatotop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together709 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
- Veal bone
- Releases gelatin and flavour into the water, giving the stock body and depth.
- Tomato juice
- Adds acidity and moisture, brightening the soup's flavour.
- Italian paste
- Adds concentrated tomato flavour and body to the soup.
The step that matters
Remove all the fat from the stock. Fat that is left in the stock after chilling will float and make the soup greasy and heavy on the palate. Chilling overnight lets the fat solidify on top so it can be lifted off cleanly.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, pepper, tomato):
- Capsicumfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Okrafits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, pepper, tomato. 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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