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
Make the dressing
Rub the yolks of the hard-boiled eggs into a smooth paste, adding salt, pepper, sugar, mustard, and oil gradually.
Beat the raw egg until frothy, then stir in the vinegar.
Assemble and chill
Slice the peeled tomatoes into ¼-inch thick slices and set the dish on ice while making the dressing.
Stir in lumps of ice into the dressing until very cold, then pour it over the tomatoes.
Set the salad on ice until ready to serve.
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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Mustard + peppertop 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
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Their yolks form a smooth, rich base that thickens and gives the dressing body.
- Raw egg
- Beaten raw, it adds structure and helps emulsify the dressing as it combines with the vinegar.
- Vinegar
- Provides acidity that sharpens the dressing and balances the richness of the eggs and oil.
- Salad oil
- Adds fat that makes the dressing smooth and creamy when added gradually.
- Tomatoes
- Form the body of the salad, supplying moisture and a fresh, mild acidity.
The step that matters
Chilling the dressing with ice. The dressing must become very cold before it is poured over the tomatoes. Cold keeps the emulsified oil and egg mixture stable and prevents the thin vinegar and tomato juices from separating and watering down the salad.
Flavor stand-ins for the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, egg, sugar, pepper, vinegar):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Cucumberabout as good a flavor fit
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, egg, sugar, pepper, 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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