Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 81,283 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the tomato base
Combine the canned tomatoes and stock in a pan.
Simmer the mixture for 30 minutes.
Strain the mixture through a fine sieve.
Thicken and finish
Melt the butter in the pan.
Mix in the flour until blended.
Gradually add the strained soup while stirring continuously.
Bring the soup to a boil.
Add sugar, pepper, and salt.
Add the milk (or cream).
If using cream, pour it into the soup tureen before adding the soup.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Butter and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 124,287 recipes mention both: they likely 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
- Canned tomatoes
- Provide the main tomato flavor and body of the soup.
- Stock
- Supplies the liquid base and savory depth for the soup.
- Butter
- Adds richness and carries flavor when melted into the soup base.
- Flour
- Thickens the soup into a smoother, creamier texture as it is cooked.
- Milk
- Adds creaminess and softens the acidity of the tomatoes.
The step that matters
Gradually add the strained soup while stirring continuously. Adding liquid to the flour-butter mixture slowly while stirring keeps the flour dispersed, so the soup thickens smoothly instead of forming lumps.
“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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