Why it works: Tomato and capsicum match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 10,520 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the tomatoes
Remove the stalks from the tomatoes and cut them in half.
Squeeze the tomatoes to remove excess water and seeds.
Place the tomatoes in a jar with the capsicum and water.
Cover the jar and bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven until the tomatoes are soft.
Make the sauce
Rub the mixture through a sieve into a saucepan.
Add coarse sea salt and white pepper to the saucepan.
Simmer for a few minutes.
Add flour or fine bread crumbs and hot water to the pulp for a thicker sauce.
Stew gently for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat.
Stir in the butter until melted.
Serve
Serve in a sauce-tureen.
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.
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 + capsicumtop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together10,520 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Capsicum + flourtop 16% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together12,963 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Capsicum + white peppertop 19% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together1,595 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Capsicum + buttertop 21% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together18,954 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Butter and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 124,287 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, acidity and flavour of the sauce once softened and sieved.
- Butter
- Stirred in at the end to add richness and a smooth, glossy finish.
- Flour or fine bread crumbs
- Optional thickeners that give the pulp more body for a thicker sauce.
The step that matters
Baking until the tomatoes are soft. Tomatoes must be fully softened before sieving, because undercooked pieces stay firm and leave the sauce grainy and thin. Cooking breaks down cell walls so the pulp passes smoothly through the sieve.
Flavor stand-ins for the white pepper
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, capsicum, butter, flour):
- Cuminbetter flavor fit
- Corianderbetter flavor fit
- Basilbetter flavor fit
- White pepperthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, capsicum, butter, flour. 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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