Why it works: Mushroom and mace are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,529 recipes. Both carry alpha-pinene, which smells pine, turpentine. The science ↓
Mushroom Catsup
Ingredients
Directions
Salt the mushrooms
Break up small into a deep earthen pan, two gallons of large ripe mushroom-flaps, and strew amongst them three quarters of a pound of salt, reserving the larger portion of it for the top.
Let them remain two days, stirring them gently with a wooden spoon often during the time.
Make the liquor
Turn them into a large stewpan or enamelled saucepan, heat them slowly, and simmer them for fifteen or twenty minutes.
Strain the liquor closely from them without pressure; strain and measure it; put it into a very clean stewpan, and boil it quickly until it is reduced nearly half.
For every quart allow half an ounce of black peppercorns and a drachm of mace; or, instead of the pepper, a quarter of a teaspoonful (ten grains) of good cayenne.
Settle and bottle
Pour the catsup into a clean jug or jar, lay a folded cloth over it, and keep it in a cool place until the following day.
Pour it gently from the sediment, put into small bottles, cork them well, and rosin them down.
A teaspoonful of salad oil may be poured into each bottle before it is corked, the better to exclude the air from the catsup.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 6 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Cayenne | 1 tsp (1.8g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Salad | not in our table | 0 |
| Mace | 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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Mushroom + macetop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,529 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mushroom-flaps
- Provide the main body and flavour of the ketchup once their juice is extracted.
- Salt
- Draws moisture out of the mushrooms and helps preserve the liquor.
- Black peppercorns
- Add warm, sharp pungency that seasons the liquor.
- Mace
- Adds a warm, aromatic spice note to the liquor.
- Cayenne
- Adds heat as a substitute for the black pepper.
The step that matters
Reducing the strained liquor. Boiling quickly concentrates the flavour and thickens the liquid, and a properly reduced ketchup keeps better in the bottle. Stop once it has reduced nearly by half rather than letting it cook down further.
“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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