Why it works: Tomato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Vegetable Soups
Ingredients
Directions
Cook vegetables in water or stock until soft.
Strain the vegetables and beat them through a fine sieve using two wooden spoons.
Mix the puree with additional stock over low heat for a few minutes before serving.
Season with catsup, tomato sauce, coarse sea salt, and Cayenne pepper to taste.
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 + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Tomato + saucetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,469 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Sauce + peppertop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,303 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sauce and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,303 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sauce, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Tomatothe original
- Mustardfits about as well
- Horseradishfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sauce, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
More vegetable soup recipes
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Tomato Bisque11 recipes
Indian Spiced Potato Soup with Tofu and Spinach448 recipes
Clear Carrot and Bottle Gourd Soup65 recipes
Mock Bisque Soup51 recipes