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 and squeeze out the juice and seeds.
In a three‑pint saucepan with a close‑fitting lid, add the tomatoes.
Add ½ cup of water, a little salt, pepper, and the bouquet garni.
Boil for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring frequently until soft.
Pass the mixture through a fine sieve.
Make the sauce
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a separate pan.
Stir in 1 teaspoon of flour and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and gradually add the tomato puree, stirring constantly.
Add ½ cup of stock, preferably flavored with ham or bacon.
Boil for 15 minutes, adding more stock if the sauce is too thick.
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 + flourtop 12% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Tomato + buttertop 22% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together6,918 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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 flavor of the sauce once cooked and sieved.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, and forms the base of the roux with flour.
- Flour
- Thickens the sauce when cooked briefly in butter to form a roux.
- Stock
- Adds savory depth and liquid, loosening the sauce as it boils.
The step that matters
Adding the tomato puree to the roux. Removing the pan from heat and stirring constantly while adding the puree prevents lumps, because the flour starch must disperse evenly in the liquid before it thickens.
“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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