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
Prepare the tomatoes
Remove the stalks from the tomatoes, halve them, and gently squeeze out the seeds and watery pulp.
Stew the tomatoes softly with the gravy or broth until they are completely melted.
Press the mixture through a fine sieve.
Season and finish
Heat the sauce again, adding more gravy if it is too thick, along with cayenne and salt to taste.
Stew the tomatoes in butter with cayenne and salt.
Sieve and heat the buttered tomato mixture.
If desired, mix in chili vinegar or cream thickened with flour, stirring continuously while boiling for 4 to 5 minutes.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Tomato + vinegartop 16% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together5,063 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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
- Ripe tomatoes
- Provide the main body and flavor of the sauce as they melt down when stewed.
- Gravy or strong broth
- Adds savory depth and moisture, helping the tomatoes break down into a smooth liquid.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a silky, rounded mouthfeel to the sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the cream when boiled, giving the sauce more body.
The step that matters
Sieve the stewed tomatoes thoroughly. Pressing the cooked tomatoes through a fine sieve removes seeds and skins, which would otherwise leave a gritty texture in the smooth sauce.
“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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