Why it works: Onion and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 9,023 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the broth
Place the beef or mutton in a large pot with cold water and bring to a boil, then skim off any foam that rises to the surface.
Add the sliced onion and cut potatoes, then simmer slowly for 2.5 hours.
Transfer the meat and broth to a porcelain kettle and skim off any grease.
Finish the soup
Stir in the canned or chopped tomatoes and chopped parsley, if using, and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
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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Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,855 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Potato + tomatotop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,798 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + tomatotop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together5,448 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
- Beef or mutton
- Gives the broth its meaty flavour and body as it simmers.
- Potatoes
- Soften during simmering and thicken the soup slightly with their starch.
- Tomatoes
- Provide the main acidity, colour and fresh tomato flavour of the soup.
- Onion
- Adds savoury sweetness and aroma to the broth as it cooks.
The step that matters
Skimming the foam and grease. Foam and fat rising from the meat can cloud the broth and make it greasy. Removing them early keeps the soup clear and clean-tasting.
Flavor stand-ins for the parsley
The recipe marks parsley as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, onion, potato, tomato):
- Garlicbetter flavor fit
- Cuminbetter flavor fit
- Thymebetter flavor fit
- Parsleythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, onion, potato, tomato. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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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