Why it works: Ginger and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,800 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Mushroom Catsup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the mushrooms
Remove any decayed, dirty, or worm-eaten portions from the mushrooms.
Cut off about ½ inch from the end of the stalks and break the rest into small pieces.
Place the mushrooms in an earthen jar and sprinkle ½ pound of salt among them, scattering the larger pieces on top.
Let them sit overnight.
Stir the mushrooms gently with a wooden spoon three times a day for two days.
After two days, place the jar in a cool oven for 1½ hours.
Make the ketchup
Strain the liquid through a coarse cloth.
Boil the liquid for 45 minutes without squeezing the mushrooms.
For every quart of liquid, add 1½ ounces of Jamaica ginger, 1½ ounces of black pepper, and 1 drachm of mace.
Boil again until the quantity is reduced by one-third.
Bottle and store
Pour the mixture into perfectly dry bottles, leaving the sediment undisturbed at the bottom.
Seal the corks and store in a cool, dry place.
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.
-
Ginger + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,800 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Mushroom + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Ginger + macetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,152 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
-
Mushroom + gingertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together867 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Pepper + macetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,257 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Pepper and mace barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,257 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mushrooms
- Provide the main body and liquid that becomes the ketchup once drawn out.
- Sea salt
- Draws moisture out of the mushrooms and helps preserve the liquid.
- Jamaica ginger
- Adds warm, aromatic spice flavor to the reduced liquid.
- Black pepper
- Adds sharp, pungent spice flavor to the reduced liquid.
- Mace
- Adds a delicate, aromatic warmth to the reduced liquid.
The step that matters
Boil again until reduced by one-third. Boiling concentrates the liquid and its flavor while evaporating water, which helps the ketchup keep. Stopping early leaves it thin and more prone to spoiling, while over-reducing makes it too thick and intense.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mushroom, ginger, pepper):
- Turmericfits better
- Clovefits better
- Thymefits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mushroom, ginger, pepper. 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.
More mushroom ketchup recipes
You might also like
Ginger Sauce12 recipes
Wine Sauce (for stewed fruit)186 recipes
Caper Sauce180 recipes
Brown Sauce141 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.