13 Ancient Food Pairings Science Finally Caught Up With

3. Tomato + Olive Oil

Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, a red carotenoid linked to heart health. Lycopene is fat‑soluble, which means your body absorbs it better when it’s eaten with some fat. That’s a likely reason Mediterranean cooks drizzle good olive oil over salads and cooked tomato dishes. The oil helps shuttle the lycopene into micelles during digestion so more of it crosses your gut lining. Slow cooking with oil also softens tomato cell walls, releasing more of the compound. Practically, stirring a little healthy oil into tomato curries or salads isn’t just about flavor—it’s about helping your body access key nutrients. That combination of taste and science is a neat example of culinary knowledge meeting biochemical reality.