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 ↓
Deviled Eggs with Tomatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the tomatoes
Cook tomatoes with onion, salt, and cayenne pepper for 10 minutes.
Add butter, parsley, and corn starch.
Cook for 10 minutes longer.
Finish and serve
Beat eggs lightly and stir them into the tomato mixture.
Serve on buttered toast.
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 + corntop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,099 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + corntop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,324 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set as they heat, adding body and richness to the tomato mixture.
- Tomatoes
- Provide moisture, bright acidity, and the main body of the dish.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richer flavor and a smoother mouthfeel.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the tomato liquid as it heats, helping it cling and hold together.
The step that matters
Stirring the beaten eggs into the tomato mixture. Egg proteins set when heated and can curdle into lumps if they meet hot liquid too quickly. Beating the eggs lightly and stirring them in steadily helps them blend smoothly into the sauce.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, tomato, pepper, butter, corn):
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatofits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, tomato, pepper, butter, corn. 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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