Why it works: Tomato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Tomato Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Combine the sliced tomatoes and hard-boiled eggs in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix the raw egg, salt, cayenne pepper, sugar, and vinegar.
Pour the dressing over the tomatoes and eggs.
Chill and serve
Chill the salad on ice until perfectly cold.
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 their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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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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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Tomato + vinegartop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,063 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tomatoes
- Form the salad's bulk and add fresh, juicy moisture and acidity.
- Raw egg
- Beaten egg thickens the dressing slightly and gives it a creamy body when mixed with vinegar.
- Vinegar
- Adds sharp acidity that balances the sugar and richness of the eggs.
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Provide soft, mild protein that gives the salad substance and absorbs the dressing.
The step that matters
Mix the raw egg into the dressing gently but thoroughly. Raw egg must be beaten smooth before combining with vinegar so it doesn't clump or curdle into streaks. Cold chilling then keeps the dressing stable and the tomatoes firm.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, pepper, sugar, vinegar):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardfits better
- Cucumberfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, pepper, sugar, vinegar. 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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