Why it works: Pepper and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Chili Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Combine the onions, green peppers, tomatoes, sugar, salt, and vinegar in a large pot.
Boil the mixture for 2.5 hours.
Bottle the sauce for use.
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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Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,226 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Onions
- Provide savory base flavor and soften into the sauce during the long boil.
- Green peppers
- Add grassy, slightly sharp flavor and bulk that breaks down into the sauce.
- Tomatoes
- Supply most of the liquid and body, and break down into a thick, smooth base.
- Vinegar
- Adds sharp acidity that gives the sauce its tang and balances the sweetness.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that rounds out the sharpness of the vinegar.
The step that matters
Boil for 2.5 hours. A long, steady boil evaporates excess water and softens the vegetables, thickening the sauce and concentrating its flavor. Stopping early leaves it thin and raw-tasting.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, tomato, sugar, vinegar):
- Capsicumfits better
- Cucumberfits better
- Mustardfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, tomato, sugar, vinegar. 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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