Why it works: Tomato and lettuce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,655 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Tomato Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Make the tomato base
Cook the tomatoes for 10 minutes, adding baking soda if they are very acidic.
Add salt and strain the mixture through a sieve.
Set and serve
Soak the gelatin in cold water, then pour it over the tomato mixture.
Mold the mixture and refrigerate until congealed.
Serve on lettuce with mayonnaise dressing.
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 + lettucetop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,655 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Gelatin + lettucetop 22% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together128 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Tomato + gelatintop 30% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together53 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-nonanal (fatty, waxy).
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, flavor and liquid for the jelly.
- Gelatin
- Sets the strained tomato liquid into a firm, sliceable jelly as it chills.
- Baking soda
- Neutralizes acidity in very tart tomatoes, mellowing their sharp flavor.
The step that matters
Soaking and adding the gelatin. Gelatin must be softened in cold water before being combined with the warm tomato mixture so it dissolves evenly. Poorly dissolved gelatin leaves lumps or weak spots, and the jelly may not set firmly when refrigerated.
Flavor stand-ins for the lettuce
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, gelatin):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Cucumberabout as good a flavor fit
- Lettucethe original
- Carrotabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, gelatin. 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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