Why it works: Tomato and cucumber are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,405 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Pork Cutlets or Chops, Plain
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the cutlets from a loin of pork, bone and trim them neatly, removing most of the fat.
Preheat a grill or broiler.
Cook and serve
Place the chops on the grill and broil for 15 minutes, turning them three or four times.
Ensure they are thoroughly cooked but not dry.
Serve with a sprinkle of coarse sea salt and white pepper, plain or with sauces and pickled cucumbers as garnish.
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 + cucumbertop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,405 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Pork + tomatotop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Tomato + saucetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,469 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Pork + cucumbertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together616 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Sauce + cucumbertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,174 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Loin of pork
- Forms the chops themselves; its lean meat cooks to tenderness when grilled briefly and carefully.
The step that matters
Cooking until thoroughly done but not dry. Pork muscle fibres toughen and lose moisture as they overheat, so the chops need enough heat to be safe while being removed promptly once cooked through.
Swap the tomato
The recipe marks tomato as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, white pepper, sauce, cucumber):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Lettucefits about as well
- Mustardfits about as well
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pork, white pepper, sauce, cucumber. 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.
More pork chops recipes
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Cream of Tomato Soup107 recipes
Pork Cake107 recipes
Roast Pork82 recipes