Why it works: Pepper and tomato 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 ↓
Chili Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
In a large pot, combine the onions, green peppers, and tomatoes.
Add the salt and stir well.
Stew the mixture gently for several hours until it becomes soft and starts to thicken.
Seal
Seal the sauce hot in sterilized jars.
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.
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Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tomatoes
- Provide the bulk of the liquid and body that cooks down into the sauce.
- Onions
- Add savory depth and sweetness as they soften during the long stew.
- Green peppers
- Contribute vegetable flavor and bulk that softens into the sauce.
- Fine salt
- Seasons the sauce and draws out moisture from the vegetables as it stews.
The step that matters
Stewing gently for several hours. Slow, gentle cooking lets the vegetables break down and water evaporate so the sauce thickens. Too much heat can scorch the bottom of the pot and burn the sugars, leaving a bitter taste.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, tomato):
- Capsicumfits better
- Eggplantfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, tomato. 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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