Why it works: Cinnamon and clove 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 ↓
Chili Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Combine the chopped green peppers and onion in a large pot.
Add salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, sugar, and vinegar.
Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until thick.
Pour into sterilized bottles and seal for storage.
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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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,536 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,038 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
- Green peppers
- Provide the bulk of the sauce and its fresh, vegetal flavor.
- Onion
- Adds savory depth and body as it softens into the sauce.
- Vinegar
- Provides acidity that gives the sauce its tang and helps preserve it.
- Sugar
- Balances the acidity and sharpness of the vinegar with sweetness.
The step that matters
Cook until thick. The sauce thickens as water evaporates during boiling. Stopping too early leaves it thin, and it may not keep well once sealed in bottles.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, clove, sugar, vinegar):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, clove, 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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