Why it works: Milk and butter 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 ↓
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the tomatoes and milk
Cook and strain the tomatoes.
Season the strained tomatoes with salt and pepper, then bring to a boil.
In a separate pot, heat the milk with the butter until it reaches the boiling point.
Combine and serve
Stir the baking soda into the hot tomatoes, then add the hot milk.
Serve immediately, adding cracker crumbs if desired.
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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Milk + buttertop 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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Tomato + milktop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,226 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Tomato + buttertop 22% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together6,918 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tomatoes
- Provide the main body, acidity and flavour of the soup.
- Milk
- Adds creaminess and a smooth, mellow texture to the soup.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smoother mouthfeel in the milk.
- Baking soda
- Neutralises some of the tomato acid, which helps keep the milk from curdling.
The step that matters
Adding the hot milk to the tomatoes. Tomatoes are acidic, and acid can cause milk proteins to clump or curdle. Baking soda neutralises some of that acid first, and keeping the milk hot and adding it gradually to the tomatoes helps the soup stay smooth.
“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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