Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 81,283 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Cream of Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the tomatoes
Cook the tomatoes thoroughly and press them through a sieve (canned tomatoes may be used).
Add 1 teaspoon baking soda to the tomato pulp.
Make the soup
In a saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter until it bubbles.
Stir in 1 heaping teaspoon of flour and cook until the flour is lightly browned.
Add 1 pint of hot milk, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and coarse sea salt to taste.
When it boils, add the tomato mixture and heat thoroughly without boiling.
Serve immediately.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Tomato + milktop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,226 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Butter and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 124,287 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
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, flavor and acidity of the soup.
- Baking soda
- Neutralizes some of the tomato's acidity, keeping the soup from curdling the milk.
- Butter
- Adds richness and carries flavor, and with flour forms the thickening base.
- Flour
- Thickens the butter and milk into a smooth, body-giving base.
- Milk
- Adds creaminess and mild sweetness, softening the tomato's sharpness.
The step that matters
Add the tomato mixture without boiling. Once tomato acid meets hot milk it can curdle, so the tomato should be added to the milk only when it boils and then heated gently, never brought to a hard boil.
“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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