Why it works: Mustard and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,169 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Margaret Hodges
Ingredients
Directions
Corn Sauce (a Relish) — One small head of cabbage, 1 dozen ears of corn, 1 tablespoon of ground mustard, 1 tea- spoon of tumeric, 1 teaspoon of celery seed, 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 1 quart of vinegar. Put corn on in cold water, boil 10 minutes, then grate cabbage. Mix all together, cook ^ hour. Put in jars while hot and seal.
MRS. MAXWELL.
Apple Sauce — There is no need to give directions for apple sauce, but may I suggest that some time you try 4 or 5 cloves and the thinly sliced rind of ^ lemon.
Bread Sauce — Bread sauce is served mostly with game, but occasionally with fowl. Two ounces of bread crumbs, 1 slice of onion, y^ ounce of butter, 3^ pint of milk, seasoning. Simmer the milk, butter and onion for 15 minutes, then strain off the milk onto the bread crumbs which should be very fine. Put the milk and bread crumbs back into the saucepan, season with pepper and salt and allow to just come to a boil. Serve very hot. A blade of mace added to the onion in the first simmering is sometimes used and all the older recipes call for a teaspoonful of black peppercorns.
India Relish — One-half peck green tomatoes, 2 Bermuda onions, 1 dozen sweet peppers, red and yellow, 4 sharp red peppers. Take through meat grinder, boil until tender, drain through a colander. Put in pan with mustard seed and salt to taste. Take 1 quart of vinegar, 1^ pounds of sugar, 1 tablespoon celery seed, 1 of whole cloves, 1 bay leaf, 1 all- spice, 1 cinnamon stick. Put all the spices in a bag and boil with the vinegar and sugar, add tomatoes and ingredients. Let it all boil up well, and then put in jars.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 15 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Corn | 1/2 cup kernels (82g) | 77 |
| Broccoli | 1 cup chopped (156g) | 55 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Clove | 1 tsp ground (2g) | 7 |
| Celery Seed | 1 stalk (40g) | 6 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp ground (2.6g) | 6 |
| Mustard | 1 tsp (5g) yellow | 3 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Bay Leaf | 1 leaf (0.6g) | 2 |
| 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.
-
Mustard + celerytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,169 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Mustard + cabbagetop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Mustard + oniontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,259 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Celery + cabbagetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,840 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Celery + clovetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked 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
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mustard, celery, sugar, vinegar, bread, onion, cabbage):
- Tarragonfits better
- Capersfits better
- Garlicfits better
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mustard, celery, sugar, vinegar, bread, onion, cabbage. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Green Corn Pudding64 recipes
Cornmeal mush12 recipes