Why it works: Tomato and tarragon work together. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and 391 recipes mention both. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Tomato Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Soak the gelatin in ½ pint of cold water for about 10 minutes.
Make the jelly
Slice the tomatoes and stew them gently in 1 pint of water until soft.
Add the dissolved gelatin, salt, sugar, and tomato ketchup, and mix thoroughly.
Strain the mixture through a fine sieve or scalded cloth.
Pour into a border mold rinsed in cold water and allow to set.
Serve
Serve with chicken, lobster, or salmon mayonnaise in the center.
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.
-
Tomato + tarragontop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together391 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Tarragon + vinegartop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,547 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Gelatin + sugartop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,778 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Ketchup + sugartop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together260 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Gelatin + ketchuptop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together6 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Gelatin
- Sets the strained tomato liquid into a firm, sliceable jelly.
- Ripe tomatoes
- Provide the main flavour, colour and body of the jelly.
- Tomato ketchup
- Adds concentrated tomato flavour and extra depth to the jelly.
- Sugar
- Balances the acidity of the tomatoes and rounds out the flavour.
The step that matters
Soaking the gelatin. Gelatin must hydrate fully in cold water before it dissolves, so the jelly sets evenly without lumps or weak spots. Dissolve it fully before mixing it into the hot tomato liquid.
Flavor stand-ins for the tarragon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (gelatin, tomato, ketchup, sugar, vinegar):
- Tarragonthe original
- Celeryabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against gelatin, tomato, ketchup, 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.
More tomato jelly recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Cream of Tomato Soup107 recipes
Tomato Bisque61 recipes
Cream Tomato Soup28 recipesThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.