Name: Ripe Tomato Sauce
Ingredients: 2 dozen large ripe tomatoes, peeled and sliced; 8 onions, sliced; 8 cups vinegar; 8 tablespoons salt; 8 tablespoons sugar; 4 green peppers, sliced; 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon; 1 tablespoon ground allspice; 1 tablespoon ground cloves; 1 tablespoon celery seed; 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg

Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 14,189 recipes mention both. 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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together14,189 recipes

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

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together7,874 recipes

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

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together5,536 recipes

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

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together17,451 recipes

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

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned 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

Tomatoes: Form the bulk of the sauce and provide its body, moisture and fruity flavor.
Onions: Add savory sweetness and body as they soften during the long simmer.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the sauce and helps preserve it.
Sugar: Balances the acidity and vinegar with sweetness and helps rounded flavor develop.
Green peppers: Contribute a grassy, slightly bitter note and extra body to the sauce.

The step that matters

Simmer for 5 hours, stirring occasionally. Long, gentle simmering evaporates water and concentrates the sauce, while stirring prevents scorching on the bottom of the pot. Too high a heat can burn the sugar and tomato solids.

Flavor stand-ins for the onion

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

Capsicumbetter flavor fit
Mustardbetter flavor fit
Carrotbetter flavor fit
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, vinegar, sugar, pepper, cinnamon, allspice, clove. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

“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.

Ripe Tomato Sauce