Why it works: Tomato and potato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,798 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Dinner
Ingredients
Directions
Serve cantaloupe and iced consomme as appetizers.
Boil salmon and serve with hollandaise sauce.
Prepare tomatoes with green peppers and cream sauce.
Broil chicken until cooked through.
Cook green peas and serve alongside mashed potatoes.
Serve currant jelly with the meal.
Prepare asparagus and lettuce salad with French dressing.
Serve cheese crackers as a side.
Chill and serve strawberry ice for dessert.
Brew and serve coffee.
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 + potatotop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,798 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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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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Chicken + potatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,756 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-decenal (green, must).
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Tomato + chickentop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,031 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Tomato + peastop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,058 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
Swap the peas
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, sauce, tomato, pepper, cream, chicken, potato):
- Beansfits better
- Sesamefits better
- Peanutfits about as well
- Peasthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, sauce, tomato, pepper, cream, chicken, potato. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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