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 ↓
Sliced Tomatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Scald the ripe tomatoes and let them stand in cold water.
Remove the skin and slice the tomatoes.
Serve
Serve with salt, pepper, and vinegar.
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).
-
Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Tomato + vinegartop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,063 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ripe tomatoes
- Provide the main body, juice, and fresh flavour of the dish.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the tomato flavour.
The step that matters
Scald the tomatoes and let them stand in cold water. Brief scalding loosens the skin so it peels off cleanly, and the cold water stops the tomatoes from cooking further, keeping their texture firm for slicing.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, vinegar):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardfits better
- Cabbagefits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, vinegar. 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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