Why it works: Tomato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 17,923 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the base
Slice the tomatoes and onion.
Place them in a pan with the butter and ham.
Cover and cook slowly for 30 minutes.
Rub the mixture through a sieve.
Add the stock.
Bring to a boil.
Season with salt and pepper.
Thicken and finish
Mix the cornflour smoothly with cold water.
Pour the soup onto the cornflour mixture.
Return to the pan.
Bring to a boil again.
Add a few drops of cochineal if desired to brighten the color.
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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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + oniontop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together42,912 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + hamtop 16% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together5,475 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tomatoes
- Provide the main flavour and body of the soup once cooked and sieved.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a rounded, rich mouthfeel and carries flavour from the aromatics.
- Onion
- Adds savoury sweetness and aroma as it softens during slow cooking.
- Raw lean ham
- Contributes savoury, salty meat flavour to the base as it cooks down.
- Cornflour
- Thickens the soup into a smooth, silky texture when brought to a boil.
The step that matters
Mix the cornflour smoothly with cold water. Starch clumps if added dry or to hot liquid directly. Mixing it into cold water first lets the granules disperse evenly, so when the soup is poured in and reheated it thickens smoothly without lumps.
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, butter, ham, pepper):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Potatoabout as good a flavor fit
- Carrotabout as good a flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, butter, ham, pepper. 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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