Why it works: Cinnamon and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,890 recipes. Both carry methyl cinnamate, which smells strawberry. The science ↓
Currant Catsup
Ingredients
Directions
Reduce the juice
Boil six quarts of juice until it has boiled away half.
Add the seasonings
Add two pounds of sugar, two ounces of cinnamon, two spoonfuls of pepper, one spoonful of mustard and cloves, one-half teacup of salt, and one pint of vinegar.
Add the spices ten minutes before taking off.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp ground (2.6g) | 6 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Salt | 1 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.
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.
-
Cinnamon + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together4,890 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
-
Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Cinnamon + vinegartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,187 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Juice
- Forms the liquid base, and boiling it down concentrates its flavour and body.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the sharpness of the vinegar and spices.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the sauce its tang and sharp bite.
- Cinnamon
- Adds warm, aromatic spice flavour.
The step that matters
Add the spices ten minutes before taking off. Spices lose their volatile aroma compounds during long boiling, so adding them near the end keeps their flavour bright rather than dull and bitter.
Swap the cinnamon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, pepper, vinegar):
- Cinnamonthe original
- Tarragonfits about as well
- Allspicefits about as well
- Peppermintfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, pepper, vinegar. 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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