Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 34,122 recipes mention both. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make a stock by simmering the soup bone in water.
About 45 minutes before serving, add the corn, tomatoes, parsley, pepper, and salt.
Ten minutes before serving, stir in the sweet milk.
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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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Corn + tomatotop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,099 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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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 + parsleytop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together5,398 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Corn + milktop 10% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Soup bone
- Simmered in water to build the flavour of the stock.
- Green corn
- Adds sweetness and body to the soup as it cooks.
- Tomatoes
- Provide acidity and a rich, pulpy base for the soup.
- Sweet milk
- Adds creaminess and softens the tomato's sharpness when stirred in late.
The step that matters
Stirring in the milk. Milk can curdle when it meets acidic tomatoes at a rolling boil. Adding it near the end, with the heat controlled, keeps it smooth.
Flavor stand-ins for the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (corn, tomato, pepper, milk):
- Basilbetter flavor fit
- Oreganobetter flavor fit
- Corianderbetter flavor fit
- Parsleythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against corn, tomato, pepper, milk. 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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