Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 81,283 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Cream of Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the tomato stock
Heat the cooked tomatoes in a pot until boiling.
If the tomatoes are not very soft, cook them longer.
Press the tomatoes through a sieve to remove skins and seeds.
Add baking soda to the strained tomatoes.
Add boiling water to the mixture to make 2 cups of stock.
Make the white sauce
In a separate pan, melt the butter and stir in the flour to make a roux.
Gradually add the milk to the roux, stirring constantly until thickened.
Combine and season
Combine the tomato stock with the thickened milk mixture and season with salt and pepper.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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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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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Tomato + milktop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,226 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Flour and butter 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
- Cooked tomatoes
- Form the main body and tangy flavor of the soup.
- Baking soda
- Neutralizes tomato acidity, mellowing the sourness and reducing curdling risk.
- Butter
- Provides fat and richness, and forms the base of the roux.
- Flour
- Thickens the sauce as its starch swells when cooked in the butter.
- Milk
- Adds creaminess and a mild sweetness, and thickens with the roux.
The step that matters
Combining the tomato stock with the milk mixture. Tomatoes are acidic, and acid can curdle milk proteins. Baking soda is added to the tomatoes first to lower their acidity, which helps keep the milk smooth when the two are combined.
“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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