Why it works: Clove and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 7,874 recipes mention both. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
A Rich Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Cut the tomatoes in half and place them in a saucepan.
Add the bunch of sweet herbs, onion with cloves, allspice, whole peppercorns, and coarse sea salt.
Cook slowly until the tomatoes are quite soft.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Tomato + clovetop 12% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together3,474 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
-
Onion + clovetop 13% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together16,901 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
-
Tomato + allspicetop 13% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together670 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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, acidity and sweet flavour of the soup as they break down.
- Onion
- Adds savoury sweetness and aromatic depth as it softens during slow cooking.
The step that matters
Cook slowly until the tomatoes are quite soft. Slow, gentle heat softens the tomato cell walls and draws out flavour without scorching the bottom of the pan. Rushing with high heat can burn the solids and leave a harsh, uneven taste.
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, clove, allspice):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Carrotbetter flavor fit
- Eggplantbetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, clove, allspice. 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.
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Cream of Tomato Soup107 recipes
Tomato Bisque61 recipes
Cream Tomato Soup28 recipesThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.