Name: Modern Cookery
Ingredients: 4 large mild onions; 4 large cucumbers or 6 middling-sized cucumbers; 3 to 6 large tomatoes or apples; 3 heaped tablespoons mild curry powder; 1 small tablespoon coarse sea salt; 2 quarts water, broth, or good stock

Why it works: Cucumber and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,405 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Modern Cookery

Ingredients

4 large mild onions
4 large cucumbers or 6 middling-sized cucumbers
3 to 6 large tomatoes or apples
3 heaped tablespoons mild curry powder
1 small tablespoon coarse sea salt
2 quarts water, broth, or good stock

Directions

Prepare

Chop the onions and cucumbers.
Dice the tomatoes or apples.

Make the soup

In a pot, combine the onions, cucumbers, and tomatoes or apples.
Add the curry powder and salt.
Pour in the water, broth, or stock.
Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until vegetables are tender.

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.

Cucumber + tomatotop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,405 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + cucumbertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,050 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,633 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

Onions: Form the soup's base and add sweetness as they soften during simmering.
Cucumbers: Add watery bulk and a mild, fresh vegetable flavour that softens when simmered.
Tomatoes or apples: Add acidity and moisture to balance the curry flavour.
Curry powder: Provides the main spice flavour, with aroma released as it warms in the liquid.