Name: Stuffed Tomatoes
Ingredients: Several large ripe tomatoes; 1 box of canned turkey or equal quantities of cold meat, minced fine; 2 tablespoons melted butter; Worcestershire sauce, to taste; Coarse sea salt, to taste; Black pepper, to taste; Cracker crumbs, to make a stiff dressing

Why it works: Tomato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients

Several large ripe tomatoes
1 box of canned turkey or equal quantities of cold meat, minced fine
2 tablespoons melted butter
Worcestershire sauce, to taste
Coarse sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Cracker crumbs, to make a stiff dressing

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cut the tops off the tomatoes and scoop out the insides.

Stuff and bake

In a bowl, mix the minced meat, melted butter, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and enough cracker crumbs to form a stiff dressing.
Stuff the tomatoes with the dressing.
Place the stuffed tomatoes in a baking dish and bake until heated through.
Serve hot.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Turkey + buttertop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,592 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together15,338 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Tomato + saucetop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together5,469 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Turkey + peppertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,636 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

Butter and sauce barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 recipes: they 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: Serve as the hollow shell that holds the filling while it bakes.
Turkey or cold meat: Provides the main savory filling bulk and protein.
Butter: Adds richness and moisture to the dressing.
Cracker crumbs: Absorb liquid and bind the filling into a stiff dressing.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (turkey, butter, sauce, pepper):

Capsicumfits better
Tomatothe original
Shallotfits about as well
Mustardfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against turkey, butter, sauce, pepper. 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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Stuffed Tomatoes