Why it works: Butter and milk 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 ↓
Cream of Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cook the can of tomatoes thoroughly and press through a sieve.
In a saucepan, melt the butter until it bubbles, then stir in the flour.
Make the soup
Add the hot milk, cayenne pepper, salt, and cracker crumbs.
Bring to a boil, then add the tomato mixture and heat without boiling.
Serve
Serve hot, adding the seda to the cooked tomato.
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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Butter + milktop 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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Tomato + milktop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,226 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Butter and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 124,287 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tomatoes
- Form the main body and tangy flavor of the soup.
- Butter
- Adds richness and carries flavor when melted with the flour.
- Flour
- Thickens the butter and gives the soup a smooth body.
- Milk
- Forms the creamy liquid base that softens the tomato's sharpness.
- Cracker crumbs
- Add body and thickness to the soup.
The step that matters
Bring to a boil, then add the tomato mixture and heat without boiling. Tomatoes are acidic, and acid can make hot milk curdle. Adding the tomato to the hot milk mixture and keeping it below a boil helps keep the soup smooth rather than grainy or separated.
“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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