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 Cheese
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the moulds
Line and decorate small dariole moulds with chopped jelly.
Make the mixture
Dissolve the gelatine in the aspic jelly and allow it to cool.
Add the cooled mixture to the tomato purée along with the Parmesan cheese and seasonings.
Color the mixture if necessary and pour into the moulds to set.
Turn out and serve
Once set, turn out the moulds and garnish with chopped jelly.
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.
-
Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Tomato + parmesan cheesetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,490 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Parmesan cheese + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,322 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Gelatine
- Sets the mixture into a firm, sliceable shape when it cools.
- Tomato purée
- Provides the main body, flavour and colour of the set mixture.
- Parmesan cheese
- Adds savoury, salty depth to the tomato base.
- Aspic jelly
- Adds extra setting firmness and a clear savoury jelly base.
The step that matters
Cooling the gelatine mixture before adding it to the purée. Gelatine must be dissolved fully and cooled slightly before mixing; if it is too hot it can thin the purée, and if it cools too much it may set in lumps before pouring into the moulds.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (parmesan cheese, pepper):
- Tomatothe original
- Spinachfits about as well
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Asparagusfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against parmesan cheese, 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.
More tomato cheese recipes
You might also like
Cheese Balls97 recipes
Cheese Cake55 recipes
Cream Cheese46 recipes
Lemon Pie37 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.