Name: Tomatoes, Stuffed
Ingredients: 6 medium-sized tomatoes; 6 croutons or toasted bread; 1 heaped tablespoon of finely chopped lean cooked ham; 1 tablespoon of bread crumbs

Why it works: Bread and ham are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,536 recipes. Both carry 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which smells popcorn, roasted. The science ↓

Tomatoes, Stuffed

Ingredients

6 medium-sized tomatoes
6 croutons or toasted bread
1 heaped tablespoon of finely chopped lean cooked ham
1 tablespoon of bread crumbs

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Prepare

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cut the tops off the tomatoes and scoop out the insides.
Mix the chopped ham and bread crumbs together.

Bake and serve

Stuff the mixture into the hollowed tomatoes.
Place the stuffed tomatoes in a baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.
Serve warm.

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.

Bread + hamtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,536 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
Tomato + breadtop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,013 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Tomato + hamtop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together348 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

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

What each ingredient does

Tomatoes: Hollowed shells that hold the filling and soften into a moist, tender base when baked.
Bread crumbs: Absorb moisture from the ham and help the filling hold its shape instead of running out.
Lean cooked ham: Provides the savory, salty flavor that contrasts with the sweet, mild tomato.