Name: Sauce Superlative
Ingredients: 1 pint port wine; 1 pint mushroom catsup; ¼ pint vinegar; ½ pint walnut pickle liquor (optional); 6 teaspoons crystallized lemon acid; 1 ounce pounded anchovy; 1 ounce dried and pounded parsley; 2 ounces dried winter-savory; 1 ounce fresh lemon peel, very thinly pared; ½ ounce peeled and sliced shallots; ¼ ounce allspice; ¼ ounce black pepper, powdered; 2 teaspoons ginger, powdered; 2 teaspoons mace, powdered; 1 teaspoon cayenne; 1 teaspoon bruised celery seed

Why it works: Lemon and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

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.

Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,037 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Parsley + shallottop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,737 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Mushroom + shallottop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,982 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Lemon + shallottop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,523 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Walnut + shallottop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together440 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

What each ingredient does

Port wine: Provides body, sweetness and fruity depth to the sauce.
Mushroom catsup: Adds savory umami depth and a rich, concentrated flavor base.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that sharpens flavors and helps preserve the sauce.
Anchovy: Contributes deep savory saltiness that rounds out the other flavors.
Shallots: Lend a mild onion-like aroma and sharpness as they steep.
Crystallized lemon acid: Adds concentrated sourness that brightens and balances the sweetness.

The step that matters

Shaking the bottle daily for two weeks. Regular shaking keeps the solids distributed through the liquid so flavors extract evenly. Skipping it can leave uneven flavor and a weaker, unbalanced sauce.

Swap the walnut

The recipe marks walnut as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (port wine, mushroom, vinegar, lemon, anchovy, parsley, shallot):

Chestnutfits about as well
Walnutthe original
Chickpeafits about as well
Beansfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against port wine, mushroom, vinegar, lemon, anchovy, parsley, shallot. 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.

Sauce Superlative