Why it works: Butter and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 98,233 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the broth
In a large pot, boil the veal in water until it shreds.
Reduce the water to 2 quarts by boiling.
Strain the mixture.
Finish
Stir in the butter and sugar before serving.
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.
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Veal + tomatotop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together709 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Tomato + buttertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,918 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Veal + buttertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,381 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Tomato + sugartop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,667 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
- Veal
- Breaks down into gelatin as it simmers, giving the broth body and a richer mouthfeel.
- Fresh tomatoes
- Provide the main flavor and acidity of the soup.
- Butter
- Adds fat, which rounds out flavor and softens the mouthfeel.
- White sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the acidity of the tomatoes.
The step that matters
Reducing the water to 2 quarts. Boiling concentrates the flavor and the gelatin released from the veal. Boiling too hard or too long can over-concentrate the liquid, making it salty-tasting or overly thick, and can cloud the broth.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, butter, sugar):
- Leekfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatofits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against veal, butter, sugar. 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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