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How to Compound Them

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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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 ↓

How to Compound Them

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Select perfect fruit ; always cook in porcelain, never in metal ; bottle in stone and glass, and never use tin; keep in a dry, dark, cool place. If, on opening, there is mold on the catsup, remove carefully every particle of it, and the catsup will not then be injured. To prevent this molding, the cans may be filled nearly to the top with the catsup and the rest filled up with hot vinegar. If, on opening, there is danger of the rest spoiling, heat it thoroughly, and if too thick add vinegar. Some do not boil their catsup, but instead sprinkle the tomatoes with salt and let them stand over night, then strain and add

  2. 438 CATSUPS AND SAUCES. '

  3. spices. The following will apply to cherries, peaches, plums, grapes and all kinds of berries. The object is to get the pulp of the fruit as the foundation for the catsups, and they wonderfully retain their flavor, notwithstanding all the ingredients added : To every quart of the juicy pulp allow one pound of sugar, two blades of mace, three of cinnamon, one leaspoonful of whole cloves, one of pepper corns ; boil all down one third, then skim out the spices, add the sugar and boil till thick, and then reduce to a proper consistency with vinegar, and bottle for use.

  4. For seasoning food and sauces are herbs which usually are dried during the summer season. Many people have the idea that a finely-flavored dish must cost a great deal ; that is a mistake ; if you have untainted meat, or sound vegetables, or even Indian meal, to begin with, you can make it delicious with proper seasoning. One reason why French* cooking is much nicer than any other is that it is seasoned with a great variety of herbs and spices ; these cost very little ; if you would buy a five cents' worth at a time you would soon have a good assortment. The best kinds are sage, thyme, sweet marjoram, tarragon, mint, sweet basil, parsley, bay leaves, cloves, mace, celery seed and onions. If you will plant the seed of any of these seven first mentioned in Httle boxes on your window sill, or in a sunny spot in the yard, you can generally raise all you need. Gather and dry as follows : Parsley and tarragon should be dried in June and July, just before flowering ; mint in June and July ; thyme, marjoram and savory in July and August ; basil and sage in August and September ; all herbs should be gathered in the snnshine, and dried by artificial heat ; their flavor is best preserved by keeping them in air-tight tin cans, or in tightly-corked glass bottles,

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

71Calories
0 gProtein
0 gFat
18 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Macenot in our table0

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

By Goff, May Perrin, [from old catalog] ed. 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. Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

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

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  3. Mace + clovetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together8,400 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

  4. Cinnamon + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,890 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

  5. Mace + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,611 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

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

Swap the mace

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

  1. Allspicefits better
  2. Nutmegfits better
  3. Cardamomfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, clove, vinegar, cinnamon, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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