Why it works: Tomato and capsicum match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 10,520 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a cool oven”. The 300°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the tomatoes
Place tomatoes in a jar and set it in a cool oven (300°F/150°C) or on the hob until soft.
Peel off the skins and remove the seeds.
Make the sauce
Mix the pulp with powdered capsicum, vinegar, powdered ginger, pepper, and salt.
Add beef gravy and simmer very slowly for 15 minutes.
Strain the sauce through a sieve and serve.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Tomato + capsicumtop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together10,520 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Capsicum + peppertop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together34,571 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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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 + beeftop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together5,448 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Capsicum + gingertop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together3,890 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
- Tomatoes
- Provide the main body, pulp and acidity of the sauce.
- Beef gravy
- Adds savoury depth and body to the sauce during simmering.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens flavour and helps preserve the sauce.
The step that matters
Simmering the sauce very slowly. Gentle heat lets the flavours meld and the sauce thicken without scorching on the base of the pan. Fast boiling can burn the sugars in the tomato and make the sauce taste bitter.
Flavor stand-ins for the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, capsicum, vinegar, pepper, beef):
- Corianderbetter flavor fit
- Basilbetter flavor fit
- Tarragonbetter flavor fit
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, capsicum, vinegar, pepper, beef. 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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