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Tomato Relish

A sweet and spicy tomato relish made with tomatoes, onions, spices, vinegar, and sugar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Chicago. Bethany union church. Woman's society. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and clove 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 ↓

Tomato Relish

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine tomatoes, onions, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, celery seed, red pepper, salt, vinegar, and sugar.

  2. Boil slowly until quite thick.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

150Calories
3 gProtein
1 gFat
35 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Celery Seed1 stalk (40g)6
Allspice1 tsp ground (1.9g)5
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 Chicago. Bethany union church. Woman's society. [from old catalog]. 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. Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

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

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  3. Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,536 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Celery + tomatotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,377 recipes

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

  5. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

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

What each ingredient does

Tomatoes
Provide the bulk and liquid that cook down into the relish's body.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and helps thicken the relish as it cooks down.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that gives the relish its sharp, tangy flavour.
Onions
Add savoury flavour and body as they soften during the long simmer.

The step that matters

Boil slowly until quite thick. Long, gentle simmering evaporates water and concentrates sugars and acids. Boiling too hard can scorch the sugar and tomatoes on the bottom of the pan before the relish thickens.

Swap the tomato

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

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

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