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Tomato Catsup

A tomato condiment made by boiling tomatoes with salt, pepper, vinegar, sugar, cloves, allspice, red pepper, onions, celery seed, and garlic.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Gibson, Marietta Fauntleroy Hollyday, "Mrs. C. H. Gibson." · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,377 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Tomato Catsup

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Combine one peck tomatoes, one cup salt, three tablespoonfuls black pepper, two cloves, two allspice, one large pod of red pepper chopped fine, four onions chopped, one teacup brown sugar, twelve whole cloves, and same of garlic.

  2. Pour boiling water on the tomatoes to remove the skins.

Cook

  1. Put the tomatoes into a kettle with one quart of vinegar and boil for two hours.

  2. Strain through a colander.

Finish

  1. Add two tablespoonfuls of celery seed.

  2. Bottle while hot.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

145Calories
3 gProtein
1 gFat
33 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 9 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
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Celery Seed1 stalk (40g)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 Gibson, Marietta Fauntleroy Hollyday, "Mrs. C. H. Gibson.". 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 + celerytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,377 recipes

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

  2. Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  3. Pepper + celerytop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

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

  4. Clove + celerytop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,668 recipes

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

  5. Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,518 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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 sauce and provide its body and moisture as they cook down.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that gives the ketchup its sharp tang and helps preserve it.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness that balances the acidity and rounds out the flavor.
Onions
Contribute savory aroma and depth to the sauce as they cook.

The step that matters

Boiling the tomatoes for two hours. Long boiling evaporates water from the tomatoes, concentrating their flavor and thickening the sauce. Stopping early leaves it thin and watery, while the vinegar and sugar need that reduction to balance properly.

Swap the onion

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

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

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