Name: Tomatoes and Macaroni
Ingredients: 1 pound tomatoes; 1 onion; 2 teaspoons vinegar; a pinch of salt; a pinch of sugar; ½ pound Neapolitan macaroni

Why it works: Tomato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 20,633 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Tomatoes and Macaroni

Ingredients

Directions

Make the tomato sauce

Place the tomatoes in a stewpan and cover with just enough water.
Add the onion, vinegar, salt, and sugar.
Boil until the tomatoes are soft.

Finish the dish

Cook the macaroni according to package instructions, then drain.
Combine the macaroni with the tomato mixture and serve.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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 + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,633 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + vinegartop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,226 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,806 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Tomato + vinegartop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,063 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Tomato + sugartop 33% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together4,667 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Tomatoes: Form the body and most of the flavor of the sauce as they soften and break down.
Onion: Adds savory depth and aroma as it cooks into the sauce.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the tomato flavor.
Neapolitan macaroni: Forms the bulk of the dish and holds the tomato sauce.