Why it works: Tomato and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 15,539 recipes mention both. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
Tomato Salad, Half Mourning
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the tomatoes
Peel the tomatoes and set aside in a cool place to chill.
Make the dressing
In a bowl, beat the egg yolk, salt, and paprika.
Add the vinegar and mix well.
Gradually beat in the olive oil, one teaspoon at a time, using a Dover egg beater.
Serve
When ready to serve, mix in the chopped truffles.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Tomato + olivetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together15,539 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Vinegar + olivetop 10% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together12,297 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
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Olive + truffletop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together435 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
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Tomato + vinegartop 16% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together5,063 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Tomato + truffletop 17% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together242 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-nonanal (fatty, waxy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolk
- Emulsifies the oil and vinegar, giving the dressing a thick, creamy body.
- Olive oil
- Provides the fat that, beaten in slowly, makes the dressing rich and smooth.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the dressing and balances the richness of the oil.
- Tomatoes
- Supply the fresh, juicy base that the dressing coats.
- Truffles
- Add a strong earthy aroma to the finished dressing.
The step that matters
Gradually beat in the olive oil. Adding oil too fast breaks the emulsion, so the dressing separates instead of turning thick and creamy. Adding it a little at a time lets the egg yolk coat each droplet of oil and hold them suspended in the vinegar.
“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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