Why it works: Allspice and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,874 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Tomato Catsup Without Vinegar
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the tomatoes
Scald the tomatoes.
Peel the tomatoes.
Mash the peeled tomatoes thoroughly.
Season the mash with salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, mace, allspice, cloves, and minced onions.
Place the seasoned mixture in a porcelain-lined kettle.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Remove the kettle from heat.
Strain the mixture through a sieve to remove seeds and spices.
Make the ketchup
Return the strained mixture to the kettle.
Boil the strained mixture until it thickens to a cream-like consistency.
Allow the thickened ketchup to cool completely.
Bottle and store
Pour the cooled ketchup into clean pint bottles.
Fill each bottle to within ½ inch of the cork.
Add 1 teaspoon of salad oil to each bottle.
Cork each bottle tightly with new corks, cutting them level with the neck of the bottle.
Seal the cork and neck with boiling canning wax.
Store the bottles on their sides in a cool, dry, dark 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.
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Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together17,451 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
-
Pepper + allspicetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,395 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Mace + clovetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,400 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
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Mace + allspicetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,189 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tomatoes
- Form the base of the ketchup, providing bulk, acidity, and body once cooked down.
- Onions
- Add savory depth and body as they soften into the thickened sauce.
- Cloves
- Contribute warm, aromatic flavor that is strained out before bottling.
- Allspice
- Adds warm, aromatic spice flavor to the sauce.
- Cracked mace
- Adds a delicate, warm aroma to the sauce.
The step that matters
Boil until cream-like. Tomato mash thickens as water evaporates and pectin and solids concentrate. Stopping too early leaves the ketchup thin and watery, while over-boiling can scorch the sauce on the kettle base, so stir and watch the consistency.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, pepper, allspice, clove, onion):
- Thymefits better
- Cinnamonfits better
- Cuminfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, pepper, allspice, clove, onion. 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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