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Sauce

Tomato Catsup

A tomato sauce thickened with spices, vinegar, and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Shutt, William E., Mrs., [from old catalog] comp · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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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 ↓

Tomato Catsup

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine one peck of peeled tomatoes, four tablespoonfuls of salt, four tablespoonfuls of brown sugar, one quart of sliced onions, six pods of red pepper, and two tablespoonfuls of ground spices mixed.

  2. Boil until tomatoes and onions are soft.

  3. Strain through a sieve.

  4. Add one pint of vinegar to each gallon of the mixture and boil until as thick as you wish.

  5. Bottle hot and seal.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

39Calories
2 gProtein
1 gFat
8 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

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

By Shutt, William E., Mrs., [from old catalog] comp. 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. See the original page.

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. Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  3. Vinegar + tomatotop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,063 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

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

What each ingredient does

Tomatoes
Form the bulk of the ketchup and provide its main body and flavor.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and helps preserve the finished ketchup.
Onions (in the method)
Add savory depth and soften into the mixture during boiling.
Brown sugar (in the method)
Adds sweetness that balances the acidity of the tomatoes and vinegar.

The step that matters

Boil until as thick as you wish. Ketchup thickens only as water evaporates during boiling. Stopping too early leaves it thin and watery, while boiling too long can make it overly dense and sticky.

Swap the tomato

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

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Mustardfits better
  3. Cabbagefits better
  4. Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, 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.

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