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 ↓
Walnut Catsup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the brine
Mix green walnut shells with coarse sea salt in a tub.
Let them sit for 2-3 days, stirring occasionally until they turn black.
Make the ketchup
Press out the liquid and simmer it in an iron pot until scum forms, removing the scum as it appears.
Bruise ¼ pound each of ginger and allspice, and 2 ounces each of long pepper and cloves.
Boil the spices with the liquid for 30 minutes.
When cold, bottle the catsup.
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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Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,038 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Ginger + allspicetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,620 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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Allspice + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,395 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Green walnut shells
- Provide the bitter, dark-coloring liquid that forms the base of the ketchup.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws liquid out of the shells and acts as a preservative during the sitting period.
- Spices (ginger, allspice, long pepper, cloves)
- Add aroma and warmth, flavoring the liquid as it boils.
The step that matters
Removing the scum while simmering. Impurities and proteins rise to the surface as the liquid heats. Skimming them as they form keeps the ketchup clear and prevents off flavors from returning into the liquid.
Swap the walnut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ginger, allspice, pepper, clove):
- Chickpeafits better
- Walnutthe original
- Beansfits about as well
- Cashew nutfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against ginger, allspice, pepper, 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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