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 ↓
Tomato Relish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the vegetables
Chop the tomatoes, green peppers, and onions finely.
Mix the chopped vegetables with 1/2 cup coarse sea salt and drain overnight in a muslin bag.
Make the sweet vinegar
Boil 2 quarts of vinegar with 2 pounds of sugar for a few minutes, then let it cool.
Combine and rest
In a 2-gallon jar, combine the drained vegetables, 1 ounce of white mustard seed, and 2 bunches of chopped celery.
Pour the cooled sweetened vinegar over the mixture and cover.
Let it sit for a few days before using.
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.
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Mustard + celerytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,169 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,377 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Pepper + celerytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Onion + mustardtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,259 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,518 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Vinegar
- Provides the acidity that preserves the relish and sharpens its flavour.
- Sugar
- Balances the sharpness of the vinegar and adds sweetness to the relish.
- Ripe tomatoes
- Supply the main bulk, moisture and fruity flavour of the relish.
- Onions
- Add pungent savoury flavour and body to the chopped vegetable base.
- White mustard seed
- Adds a sharp, pungent aroma and a mild bite to the relish.
- Celery
- Adds crunch and a fresh, vegetal flavour to the relish.
The step that matters
Draining the salted vegetables overnight. Salt draws water out of the chopped vegetables by osmosis. Draining them well keeps the relish from becoming watery and diluting the vinegar, so it stays thick and well flavoured.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, sugar, tomato, pepper, mustard, celery):
- Capsicumfits better
- Lettucefits better
- Horseradishfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, sugar, tomato, pepper, mustard, celery. 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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