Name: Stuffed Tomatoes
Ingredients: 4 large tomatoes; 2 tablespoons chopped parsley; 1 tablespoon sweet herbs; ½ cup cheese, grated; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1 small onion, chopped; 2 eggs; ¼ cup breadcrumbs; 2 teaspoons butter

Why it works: Tomato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 20,633 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Stuffed Tomatoes

Oven, in the book's wordsA quick oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure. The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Prepare

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Halve the tomatoes and scoop out some of the insides.

Stuff and bake

In a bowl, mix the scooped tomato insides, parsley, sweet herbs, cheese, salt, onion, and eggs.
Fill the tomato halves with the stuffing mixture.
Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top and place a piece of butter on each.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.

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.

Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,633 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,398 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,962 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Parsley + oniontop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,843 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Tomato + cheesetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,896 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

Eggs: Bind the stuffing together and help it set as it bakes.
Cheese: Adds richness and savory flavor and melts into the stuffing.
Breadcrumbs: Absorb moisture and form a crisp, browned topping.
Butter: Adds fat that promotes browning and a rich flavor on top.
Tomatoes: Form the edible shell and release juices that moisten the filling.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (parsley, cheese, onion, egg, butter):

Chivefits better
Potatofits better
Shallotfits better
Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against parsley, cheese, onion, egg, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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.