Why it works: Allspice and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,874 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Tomato Catsup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the tomatoes
Select good ripe tomatoes.
Scald and strain the tomatoes through a coarse sieve to remove seeds and skins.
Cook and bottle
When cold, add salt, ground mustard, black pepper, cayenne pepper, ground allspice, cloves, and vinegar.
Simmer slowly for 4 hours.
Bottle and cork tightly.
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.
-
Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Mustard + allspicetop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,928 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
-
Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together17,451 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
-
Pepper + allspicetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,395 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ripe tomatoes
- Provide the main body, moisture and tomato flavor of the ketchup.
- Cider or white wine vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the ketchup its tangy flavor and helps preserve it.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the sauce and draws out flavor from the tomatoes.
- Ground mustard
- Adds pungent, sharp flavor that balances the sweetness of the tomatoes.
The step that matters
Simmer slowly for 4 hours. Long, gentle simmering evaporates water and concentrates the tomato flavor and thickness. Heating too hard can scorch the sugars and solids on the bottom of the pan, so the sauce needs steady, low heat and occasional stirring.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mustard, pepper, allspice, clove, cider):
- Horseradishfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mustard, pepper, allspice, clove, cider. 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.
More tomato ketchup recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Cream of Tomato Soup107 recipes
Tomato Bisque61 recipes
Cream Tomato Soup28 recipesThe 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.