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 Baked 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
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Cut a round hole in the top of each tomato and scoop out the soft part.
Stuff and bake
In a bowl, mix stale bread crumbs, pepper, coarse sea salt, butter, chopped onions, and tomato pulp.
Fill each tomato with the mixture.
Place the stuffed tomatoes in a buttered baking pan.
Bake for 25 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).
-
Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Tomato + breadtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,013 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Large firm tomatoes
- Hold their shape as a edible vessel for the filling while baking.
- Stale bread crumbs
- Absorb moisture and give the filling body so it holds together.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat that helps the filling brown lightly in the oven.
- Onions
- Add savory sweetness and aroma as they soften in the filling.
- Tomato pulp
- Adds moisture and tomato flavor to the filling.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, bread, pepper, butter):
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatofits better
- Carrotfits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, bread, pepper, butter. 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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