Name: Chilli Sauce
Ingredients: 1 gallon ripe tomatoes, chopped fine; 6 green peppers, chopped; 6 medium onions, chopped; 1 tablespoon black pepper; 3 tablespoons salt; 1 tablespoon ground cloves; 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon; 1½ cups brown sugar; 1 tablespoon allspice; 1 pint vinegar

Why it works: Clove and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. 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.

Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,189 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together7,874 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,536 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Pepper + allspicetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,395 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

What each ingredient does

Ripe tomatoes: Provide the bulk of the sauce and its liquid, which cooks down to a thick texture.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and helps balance the sharpness of the vinegar and tomatoes.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the sauce and helps preserve its flavor.
Onions: Add savory depth and body as they soften during the long cook.

The step that matters

Cooking slowly over low heat. Long, gentle simmering lets water evaporate slowly so the sauce thickens evenly. Higher heat can scorch the sugars on the bottom of the pot and make the sauce taste burnt.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, pepper, clove, cinnamon, sugar, allspice, vinegar):

Capsicumfits better
Mustardfits better
Carrotfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, pepper, clove, cinnamon, sugar, allspice, 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.

Chilli Sauce

Chilli Sauce

Ingredients

Directions