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 Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dressing
Rub the yolks of the hard-boiled eggs into a smooth paste, adding salt, cayenne pepper, sugar, mustard, and salad oil gradually.
Beat the raw egg until frothy, then stir it into the mixture.
Add the vinegar.
Chill and serve
Slice the tomatoes a quarter inch thick.
Set the dish on ice while preparing the dressing.
Stir lumps of ice into the dressing until very cold.
Pour the dressing over the tomatoes.
Set the salad on ice until ready to serve.
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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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + mustardtop 11% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,482 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Hard-boiled egg yolks
- Mashed into a smooth paste, they bind the oil and mustard into a creamy base for the dressing.
- Raw egg
- Beaten and stirred in, it adds body and richness to the dressing.
- Salad oil
- Blended gradually into the yolks, it adds fat and a smooth, creamy texture.
- Vinegar
- Adds sharp acidity that balances the richness of the eggs and oil.
- Tomatoes
- Form the body of the salad, with their juice mixing into the dressing when poured over.
The step that matters
Adding the oil and raw egg gradually. Oil must be incorporated slowly into the egg yolk paste so it emulsifies; adding it too fast can cause the dressing to separate and turn greasy.
Flavor stand-ins for the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, egg, pepper, sugar, vinegar):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Cucumberabout as good a flavor fit
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, egg, pepper, sugar, vinegar. 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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