Name: Homemade Ketchup
Ingredients: ⅛ cup vinegar; 1 teaspoon ground cloves; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; ½ teaspoon celery seeds; 2 tablespoons dried onion flakes; ¼ cup water; 1 (15 ounce) can tomato paste; ⅛ teaspoon pepper; 8 teaspoons artificial sweetener

Why it works: Clove and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Homemade Ketchup

Time30 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the ketchup

In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients except the sweetener.
Bring to a boil and reduce heat.
Simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove from heat and add sweetener.

Store

Refrigerate in a covered container.
Use within a week.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

94Calories

3 gProtein

1 gFat

21 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Cloves	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Celery Seed	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Water	not in our table	0

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.

Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,189 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Celery + tomatotop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,377 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Clove + celerytop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,668 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).

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

What each ingredient does

Tomato paste: Provides the thick body and concentrated tomato flavor that forms the base of the ketchup.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and helps preserve the sauce.
Dried onion flakes: Add savory onion flavor that rehydrates and softens during simmering.
Artificial sweetener: Provides sweetness without sugar, balancing the acidity of the vinegar and tomato.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, clove, cinnamon, celery, tomato, pepper):

Capsicumfits better
Carrotfits better
Mustardfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, clove, cinnamon, celery, tomato, pepper. 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.