Name: Tomatoes Stuffed with Corn
Ingredients: 4 large firm tomatoes; 1 cup grated green corn; ½ cup bread crumbs; 1 tablespoon milk; 1 tablespoon butter; 1 teaspoon white sugar; Salt and pepper to taste

Why it works: Tomato and corn match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,099 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

Tomatoes Stuffed with Corn

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure. The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Prepare

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Cut off the tops of the tomatoes and scoop out the inside pulp.

Stuff and bake

In a bowl, mix the grated corn, bread crumbs, milk, butter, sugar, salt, and pepper.
Fill the tomatoes with the corn mixture.
Place the stuffed tomatoes in a baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes.

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.

Tomato + corntop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,099 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + breadtop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,013 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Tomatoes: Firm tomatoes hold their shape as the cavities are filled and baked, serving as the edible vessel.
Grated green corn: Supplies the sweet, starchy filling that becomes tender and moist when baked.
Bread crumbs: Absorb the milk and butter, giving the filling body so it holds together rather than running out.
Butter: Adds fat for richness and a softer, moister texture in the filling.
Milk: Moistens the bread crumbs and corn, helping the filling bind and stay tender.

Swap the tomato

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

Capsicumfits better
Potatofits better
Tomatothe original
Sweet potatofits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against corn, bread, milk, butter, sugar, 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.