Why it works: Ginger and mustard are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,456 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Mushroom Catchup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the mushrooms
Trim the lower part of the mushroom roots and shake out the sand; do not wash or peel them.
Pack the mushrooms in layers in a 6‑gallon stone jar, adding salt between each layer.
Let the mushrooms stand for 6 hours, then mash into a pulp with a wooden potato masher.
Let the mixture stand for 2 days, stirring every 6 hours, then leave it undisturbed in a warm place until a thick white scum rises.
Season and boil
Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan.
Add the chopped ginger root, crushed peppercorns, mustard seed, and whole mace to the saucepan.
Gently boil the mixture, then pour it into a clean stone jug.
Steep and bottle
Cover the jug with a thin piece of cheesecloth and let it steep for 6 months in a cool place.
After 6 months, heat the jug in a hot water bath, then strain through a muslin bag and bottle for use.
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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Ginger + mustardtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,456 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Ginger + macetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,152 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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Mushroom + gingertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together867 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Mushroom + mustardtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together881 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Mushroom + macetop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,529 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Hothouse mushrooms
- Provide the main body, flavour and liquid that becomes the ketchup.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws moisture out of the mushrooms and preserves the mixture during long standing.
- Mustard seed
- Adds pungent, sharp flavour that rounds out the savoury base.
- Peppercorns
- Contribute sharp, aromatic heat that builds depth over the long steeping.
The step that matters
Letting the mixture stand until a thick white scum rises. Standing in salt lets the mushrooms release liquid and ferment gently, and the scum signals that the fermentation has progressed. Leaving it undisturbed keeps the scum intact so the liquid stays clear as it is strained off.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mushroom, ginger, mustard):
- Turmericfits better
- Allspicefits better
- Clovefits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mushroom, ginger, mustard. 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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