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 soup
Rub the tomatoes through a sieve.
Combine the tomato puree with the water and a little flour in a saucepan, and bring to a boil.
Add pepper and salt to taste.
Finish with the egg and cream
Beat the egg yolk and place it in a tureen with the cream.
Slowly pour the hot soup over the egg and cream, stirring well to prevent curdling.
For a richer soup, add more cream and another egg yolk.
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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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Cream + flourtop 20% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
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Tomato + flourtop 22% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together7,065 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Egg and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 106,462 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
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 and tomato flavour of the soup.
- Egg yolk
- Enriches and thickens the soup as it sets gently in the hot liquid.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, velvety mouthfeel to the soup.
- Flour
- Lightly thickens the soup so it has more body.
The step that matters
Slowly pour the hot soup over the egg and cream. Egg yolk can scramble if it meets very hot liquid too quickly. Pouring slowly while stirring gradually warms the yolk, so the soup stays smooth rather than curdling.
“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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