Why it works: Cider and apple are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,238 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓
Tomato Chutney
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Boil tomatoes and strain.
Add ginger, apples, onions, and red peppers.
Cook and seal
Add cider vinegar, sugar, and salt.
Boil all together, but not too long.
Bottle and seal.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | 1 medium (182g) | 95 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Ginger | 1 tsp grated fresh (2g) | 2 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Cider | not in our table | 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.
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Cider + appletop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,238 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Cider + vinegartop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,431 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
-
Ginger + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,800 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Ginger + oniontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,595 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Ginger + appletop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,424 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Apples
- Their natural pectin and body help the chutney thicken as it cooks.
- Cider vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and helps preserve the chutney.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the vinegar and helps thicken the chutney as it reduces.
- Onions
- Provide a savory base that gives the chutney depth as they soften during cooking.
- Red peppers
- Add sweetness, color, and soft body to the chutney as they cook down.
- Ginger
- Adds a warm, spicy aroma and a slight bite that cuts through the sweetness.
The step that matters
Boil all together, but not too long. Prolonged boiling breaks down the apples and peppers into mush and concentrates the sugar and vinegar, which can make the chutney overly dark, sticky, or sharp.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ginger, cider, vinegar, sugar, apple, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardfits better
- Cabbagefits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against ginger, cider, vinegar, sugar, apple, pepper. 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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