Why it works: Tomato and clove are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,474 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
In a pot, combine the tomatoes, water, bay leaf, cloves, salt, and peppercorns.
Boil the mixture thoroughly, then strain it through a fruit sieve.
In a saucepan, melt the butter, then add the flour and sugar, stirring until thickened.
Pour the strained tomato mixture into the saucepan and heat until ready to serve.
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 + clovetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,474 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Clove + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,671 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they 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, acidity and flavour of the soup.
- Flour
- Thickens the butter mixture so it helps give the soup body.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness to the flour roux.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the acidity of the tomatoes.
The step that matters
Stirring the flour and butter until thickened. Flour must be cooked in melted butter while stirring, so it thickens smoothly without lumps. Stopping early leaves a raw floury taste and uneven texture.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (clove, flour, sugar, butter):
- Arrowrootfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Leekfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against clove, flour, 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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