Why it works: Parsley and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,810 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Corn-stuffed Tomato Cups
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the filling
Wash the tomatoes and scoop out the centers.
Combine the corn, bread crumbs, parsley, onion, salt, paprika, and celery salt.
Stuff and bake
Stuff the tomatoes with the mixture.
Place the stuffed tomatoes in a shallow pan.
Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F (175°C).
Baste twice with boiling water and melted butter.
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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Parsley + celerytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,810 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,377 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Tomato + corntop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,099 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,518 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tomatoes
- Act as the edible shell that holds the filling while it bakes.
- Bread crumbs
- Soak up moisture and give the stuffing body so it holds its shape.
- Corn
- Adds sweetness and bulk to the filling.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and helps the tops brown as it bastes the tomatoes.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, corn, bread, parsley, celery, butter):
- Carrotfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatofits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, corn, bread, parsley, celery, 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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