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Lemon Catsup

A fermented lemon-based condiment made with salt, spices, vinegar, garlic, and lemon juice.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Nutmeg and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,331 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Lemon Catsup

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare and simmer

  1. Slice the lemons.

  2. Add the sliced lemons and other ingredients to a pot.

  3. Let the mixture simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.

Steep

  1. Transfer to a covered jar.

  2. Stir the mixture every day for 7 to 8 weeks.

  3. After the steeping period, strain the mixture.

Bottle

  1. Bottle, cork, and seal the catsup.

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.

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. Nutmeg + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,331 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Mustard + allspicetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,928 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

  3. Mace + nutmegtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,557 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  4. Pepper + allspicetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,395 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  5. Mustard + garlictop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,053 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

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

What each ingredient does

Lemons
Supply the main citrus acidity and fresh aroma that define the ketchup's flavor.
Cider vinegar
Adds sharp acidity and helps preserve the ketchup during long steeping.
Ground mustard
Contributes sharp, pungent flavor that balances the acidity.
Cayenne pepper
Adds direct heat that builds as the flavors steep together.
Garlic cloves
Add savory pungency that deepens the overall flavor.
Nutmeg
Adds warm, aromatic spice notes that round out the sharp flavors.

The step that matters

Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Gentle heat softens the lemons and draws their oils and flavor into the liquid. Simmering too long can dull the bright citrus aroma and concentrate the vinegar's sharpness, so watch the pot and keep it at a gentle simmer.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mustard, nutmeg, pepper, allspice, cider, vinegar, garlic):

  1. Clovefits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Tarragonfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mustard, nutmeg, pepper, allspice, cider, vinegar, garlic. 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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