Why it works: Tomato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 17,923 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Tomato Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the tomatoes
Peel and slice the tomatoes.
Chill the sliced tomatoes on ice.
Make the dressing
Mash the yolks of the hard boiled eggs into a paste in a bowl.
Gradually mix in the salt, cayenne pepper, sugar, mustard, and salad oil.
Beat the raw egg until frothy.
Stir the beaten raw egg into the yolk mixture slowly.
Add the vinegar.
Serve
Pour the dressing over the chilled tomatoes.
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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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + mustardtop 11% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,482 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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 and fresh, slightly acidic flavor of the salad.
- Hard boiled egg yolks
- Form a smooth, thick base that gives the dressing body and richness.
- Raw egg
- Beaten until frothy and stirred in, it adds emulsifying structure and creaminess to the dressing.
- Salad oil
- Adds fat and smoothness to the dressing, carrying flavor across the tomatoes.
- Vinegar
- Adds sharp acidity that balances the richness of the egg and oil.
The step that matters
Stir the beaten raw egg into the yolk mixture slowly. Adding the raw egg slowly lets it blend in gradually instead of splitting or curdling, keeping the dressing smooth and thick before the vinegar is added.
Flavor stand-ins for the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, egg, pepper, sugar, vinegar):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Cucumberabout as good a flavor fit
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, egg, pepper, sugar, vinegar. 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.
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