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
Boil the tomatoes, onions, and sweet red pepper slowly for 1 hour.
Add the vinegar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
Boil for 2 more hours.
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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Cinnamon + gingertop 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).
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Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together17,451 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 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
- Provide the bulk, moisture and body that cooks down into the sauce.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and helps preserve the sauce.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and depth, balancing the acidity of the vinegar and tomatoes.
- Onions
- Add savoury sweetness and aromatic body as they soften into the sauce.
The step that matters
Simmering the sauce for the full time. Long, slow boiling evaporates water and concentrates the sugars and acids, thickening the sauce and mellowing the spices. Cutting the simmer short leaves it thin and sharp.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, pepper, vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, clove):
- Capsicumfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Sweet potatofits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, pepper, vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, clove. 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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