Why it works: Tomato and pepper 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 ↓
Chutney
Ingredients
Directions
Combine tomatoes, red peppers, onions, sugar, raisins, ginger, salt, and vinegar in a large pot.
Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 1½ hours.
Seal the chutney while hot in sterilized jars.
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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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + gingertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,800 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + gingertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,595 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + gingertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,887 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
- Tomatoes
- Break down into the chutney's thick, saucy body while cooking.
- Onions
- Soften and sweeten as they cook, adding savory depth to the chutney.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps balance the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Vinegar
- Provides acidity that gives the chutney its tang and helps it keep.
- Raisins
- Add concentrated sweetness and chewy texture as they plump in the cooking liquid.
The step that matters
Cooking the chutney for 1½ hours. Long, gentle simmering evaporates water and lets the vinegar and sugar concentrate into a thick, spreadable texture. Stopping early leaves it runny and less stable for storage.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, pepper, onion, sugar, ginger, vinegar):
- Limefits better
- Mangofits better
- Cherryfits better
- Raisinthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, pepper, onion, sugar, ginger, 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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