Why it works: Sugar and butter 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 ↓
Stewed Tomatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Place the chopped tomatoes in a saucepan over medium heat.
Boil gently for 20 to 30 minutes, starting from when it begins to boil.
Add salt, sugar, and butter 5 minutes before cooking is finished.
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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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Tomato + buttertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,918 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
- Tomatoes
- Provide the main body and liquid that cook down into the stewed sauce.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, rounded mouthfeel to the finished tomatoes.
- Sugar
- Balances the acidity of the tomatoes and adds a touch of sweetness.
The step that matters
Adding salt, sugar, and butter 5 minutes before the end. Adding seasonings late keeps their flavors bright and fresh, while butter added at the end stays rich rather than separating during long simmering. Timing matters because the final five minutes determine the balance of the dish.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter):
- Sweet potatofits better
- Leekfits better
- Potatofits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter. 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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