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 base
Heat the cooked tomatoes in a pot until boiling, then cook until very soft.
Press the tomatoes through a sieve to remove skins and seeds, then add baking soda.
Add boiling water to the mixture until it makes 2 cups of stock.
Make the white sauce
In a separate pan, melt the butter, stir in the flour, and cook for a minute.
Gradually add the milk to the flour mixture, stirring constantly until thickened.
Combine and season
Combine the tomato stock with the thickened milk mixture, then 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
- Provide the main flavour and body of the soup once pressed into a stock.
- Baking soda
- Neutralises tomato acidity, reducing sourness and keeping the soup smooth.
- Flour
- Thickens the butter and milk mixture into a stable, creamy white sauce.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and carries the flour to form a roux.
- Milk
- Forms the creamy base that thickens with the flour and softens the tomato's acidity.
The step that matters
Adding the baking soda to the tomatoes. Baking soda reacts with the tomato acids and releases carbon dioxide, so it can foam up in hot liquid. Adding it to a pot that is too small or too hot can cause overflow. Stir it in gently and let the foaming settle before continuing.
“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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