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Sauce

Black Recardo

A Belizean vegetarian sauce made with achiote seeds, bitter orange juice, ancho chiles, cloves, allspice, black peppercorns, oregano, cumin, garlic, and salt.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Oregano and cumin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 983 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Black Recardo

Time2–3 hours (soaking achiote seeds)

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Place the achiote seeds in a small bowl, pour the juice over them, and allow to soak 2–3 hours.

  2. Toast the chiles just until they give off their fragrance, soak them in hot water until they soften, and drain them well.

Make the paste

  1. Place all ingredients in a spice mill or food processor and process until they are well blended.

  2. They should form a thick paste, the consistency of a chilled cookie dough.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

170Calories
4 gProtein
2 gFat
41 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Bitter Orange1 medium (131g)62
Sweet Orange1 medium (131g)62
Limejuice of 1 lime (44ml)11
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Allspice1 tsp ground (1.9g)5
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Seednot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

  1. Oregano + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together983 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,874 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  3. Cumin + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,082 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Oregano + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,756 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Clove + cumintop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,306 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

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

What each ingredient does

Ancho chiles
Provide the main body, earthy flavor and deep color of the sauce.
Achiote seeds
Provide a red color and a mild, earthy aroma when soaked in juice.
Garlic
Adds pungent, savory depth that mellows as the sauce is blended.
Bitter orange juice
Adds acidity and citrus brightness, and helps soften the achiote.

The step that matters

Soaking and softening the chiles. Toasting only until fragrant avoids bitterness from scorching, and fully softening the chiles in hot water lets them blend into a smooth paste rather than leaving gritty pieces.

Swap the bitter orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (clove, allspice, oregano, cumin, garlic):

  1. Limefits better
  2. Lemonfits better
  3. Avocadofits better
  4. Bitter orangethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against clove, allspice, oregano, cumin, garlic. 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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