Why it works: Tomato and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 3,377 recipes mention both. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Tomato Jelly Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Make the jelly
Cook the tomatoes, onion, and celery for about 15 minutes.
Add sugar and salt, then strain the mixture.
Dissolve the gelatin in water and add it to the strained mixture.
Let it boil, then pour into a mold to harden.
Serve
Serve with salad 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.
-
Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together3,377 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together18,518 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Sugar + gelatintop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,778 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Celery + gelatintop 26% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together172 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-pinene (pine, resin).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tomatoes
- Provide the main liquid and the tart flavor of the jelly.
- Gelatin
- Sets the strained liquid into a firm jelly that holds its shape.
- Sugar
- Balances the tomato's acidity with a touch of sweetness.
- Onion
- Adds savory aroma to the tomato base.
The step that matters
Let it boil, then pour into a mold. Gelatin must be fully dissolved before the mixture goes into the mold. Boiling it hard can weaken gelatin's setting power, so keep the heat gentle once the gelatin is in and it has dissolved.
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, sugar, celery, gelatin):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Carrotbetter flavor fit
- Lettucebetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, sugar, celery, 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.
You might also like
Tomato Salad179 recipes
Chicken Salad623 recipes
Salad Dressing491 recipes
Cold Slaw160 recipesThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.