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
Cook and strain
Cook the tomatoes in boiling water for 20 minutes.
Strain the mixture through a colander.
Finish the soup
Add baking soda, milk, salt, pepper, and butter.
For variation, use soup stock instead of milk and fried bread dice instead of crackers.
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, flavor, and acidity of the soup.
- Baking soda
- Neutralizes some tomato acid, lowering the risk of curdling when milk is added.
- Milk
- Adds creaminess and softens the sharp tomato flavor.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smoother mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Add the baking soda before the milk. Tomatoes are acidic, and their acid can curdle milk. Baking soda neutralizes part of that acid, lowering the risk of curdling. It also foams when it meets the acid, so add it slowly.
“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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