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Sauce

Cold Catsup

A cold condiment made from tomatoes, mustard seeds, spices, and vinegar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Warren, Pa. Presbyterian church. Second auxiliary missionary society. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 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 ↓

Cold Catsup

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Mix 1/2 cup ripe tomatoes, 1/2 cup grated horseradish, and 1 cup black and white mustard seeds.

  2. Add 1 cup sugar and 1/10 cup salt.

  3. Add 2 tablespoons black pepper.

  4. Add 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon cloves, and 1 teaspoon mace.

  5. Add 2 red pepper pods chopped, 1 onion chopped, and 1 ounce celery seed.

  6. Add 1 quart good vinegar.

  7. Chop tomatoes finely and drain.

  8. Mix and bottle.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

148Calories
3 gProtein
1 gFat
35 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 10 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

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
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Celery Seed1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
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 Warren, Pa. Presbyterian church. Second auxiliary missionary 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. Celery + tomatotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,377 recipes

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

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

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  4. Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

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

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

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

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

What each ingredient does

Ripe tomatoes
Forms the body and bulk of the catsup.
Sugar
Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
Cinnamon
Adds warm aroma and spice flavour.
Red pepper pods
Adds heat and pungency.

The step that matters

Chop tomatoes finely and drain.. Excess liquid left in the tomatoes thins the catsup and weakens its body, so draining well helps it keep a thick, spoonable texture.

Swap the mace

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

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

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