Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 81,283 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Cream of Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the tomato base
Cook the small can of tomatoes for 30 minutes with sugar, salt, and baking soda.
Strain the cooked tomatoes and add them to the milk and cream mixture.
Make the cream sauce
Melt the butter in a saucepan.
Add the flour to the melted butter and cook for 2 minutes.
Gradually add the milk and cream to the butter and flour mixture.
Strain the cooked tomatoes and add them to the milk and cream mixture.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 124,287 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tomatoes
- Provide the main flavour and body of the soup once cooked and strained.
- Butter
- Carries fat and flavour and forms the base of the roux with the flour.
- Flour
- Thickens the soup by cooking with the butter into a roux that binds the milk and cream.
- Milk
- Adds creaminess and body, forming the liquid base of the soup.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smoother, silkier texture to the soup.
The step that matters
Adding the milk and cream to the roux. Adding liquid gradually while stirring keeps the flour smooth and lets the sauce thicken evenly, avoiding lumps.
“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.
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Tomato Bisque61 recipes
Cream Tomato Soup28 recipes
Tomato Fritters23 recipesThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.