Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Stuffed Tomatoes
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the tomatoes
Wipe the tomatoes.
Remove a thin slice from the stem end.
Scoop out the inside of the tomatoes.
Sprinkle the insides with salt.
Invert the tomatoes and let stand for a short time.
Make the filling
Cook the onion in butter for 5 minutes.
Add the meat, bread crumbs, tomato pulp, and seasonings.
Cook the mixture for 5 minutes.
Add the slightly beaten egg.
Cook the mixture for a moment longer.
Fill and bake
Refill the tomato shells with the mixture.
Cover the tomatoes with buttered crumbs.
Place the tomatoes in a greased pan.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20 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 their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + chickentop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,031 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Onion + chickentop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,814 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Binds the filling so it holds its shape when spooned into the tomatoes.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb juices from the pulp and give the filling body.
- Cooked chicken or veal
- Forms the main substance of the filling and adds savory flavor.
- Tomatoes
- Act as edible shells that hold the filling and soften as they bake.
- Butter
- Adds richness to the filling and helps the buttered crumbs brown on top.
The step that matters
Add the slightly beaten egg and cook briefly. Egg proteins set with heat and bind the filling. Cooking just a moment longer sets it without overcooking, which would make the egg dry or rubbery and the filling crumbly.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, bread, butter, pepper, chicken, egg):
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatofits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, bread, butter, pepper, chicken, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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