Name: Stuffed Tomatoes
Ingredients: 1 tomato; 3 tbsp. cracker crumbs; 4 tbsp. finely chopped cooked meat; 1 tsp. butter; ¼ tsp. salt; Few grs. pepper

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

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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Prepare

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

Stuff and bake

In a bowl, mix cracker crumbs, chopped meat, butter, salt, and pepper.
Stuff the mixture into the hollowed tomato.
Place the stuffed tomato in a baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes.

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).
Meat + buttertop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,594 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Tomato + meattop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,438 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Meat + peppertop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together8,777 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together85,593 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cracker crumbs: Absorb moisture and bind the filling so it holds its shape in the tomato.
Cooked meat: Provides the savory, substantial filling that the tomato wraps around.
Butter: Adds fat and richness to the filling, helping it brown lightly in the oven.