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 Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare and cook
Peel and thinly slice the onions.
Place the onions and tomatoes in a pot and cook in a 300°F (150°C) oven until tender.
Strain and simmer
Pass the mixture through a fine sieve.
In a saucepan, combine the pulp with vinegar, salt, and cayenne.
Simmer gently for about 10 minutes.
Store
Store in air-tight bottles.
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 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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Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + vinegartop 14% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together18,226 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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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
- Tomatoes
- Provide the bulk and liquid that cook down into the sauce's body and moisture.
- Onions
- Add savoury depth and body, softening as they cook into the pulp.
- Vinegar
- Adds sharp acidity that brightens the sauce and balances the sweetness of the tomatoes.
The step that matters
Simmer gently for about 10 minutes. Gentle heat concentrates the pulp evenly without scorching it on the base of the pan. Hard boiling can burn the sugars and drive off the vinegar's bright aroma.
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, pepper, vinegar):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Cucumberbetter flavor fit
- Mustardbetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, pepper, 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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