Why it works: Tomato and lettuce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,655 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Tomato Timbales
Ingredients
Directions
Make the timbale mixture
Stew the tomatoes until soft.
Add the gelatine and stir until combined.
Season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste.
Shape and serve
Pour the mixture into small timbales to shape.
Place the timbales on ice until cold.
Serve on a bed of lettuce.
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 + lettucetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,655 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Pepper + lettucetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,037 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
- Tomatoes
- Provide the main body and tangy flavour of the timbales.
- Gelatine
- Sets the tomato mixture so it holds its shape when chilled.
The step that matters
Place the timbales on ice until cold. Gelatine sets only as it cools, so the timbales need to chill fully before serving. If they stay soft, they will slump and lose their shape.
Swap the lettuce
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Eggplantfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Lettucethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, pepper. 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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