Why it works: Tomato and honey match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 672 recipes mention both. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 6Ingredients
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Halve or quarter the tomatoes, depending on size, and arrange them cut side up in a baking dish large enough to hold them in one layer.
In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, balsamic vinegar, wholegrain mustard and olive oil until smooth.
Scatter the sliced garlic and thyme leaves over the tomatoes, then drizzle the honey dressing evenly over the top.
Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the tomatoes have softened and the edges are slightly caramelised and sticky.
Leave to rest for 5 minutes, spoon the pan juices over the tomatoes, and serve warm.
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 + honeytop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together672 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Tomato + olivetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together14,164 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Tomato + garlictop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together14,075 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
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Garlic + olivetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together23,449 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Tomato + thymetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,370 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, garlic, thyme, olive, honey, vinegar):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Onionabout as good a flavor fit
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, garlic, thyme, olive, honey, 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).
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