Name: Harvey’s, or Camp Vinegar
Ingredients: 2 quarts strong vinegar; 3 tablespoons Indian soy; 3 tablespoons mushroom catsup; 6 anchovies; 2 heads of garlic; ¼ ounce cayenne pepper; cochineal (to color)

Why it works: Mushroom and garlic are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,700 recipes. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. The science ↓

Harvey’s, or Camp Vinegar

Ingredients

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a large container.
Shake the mixture 2-3 times a day for two weeks.
After two weeks, filter the mixture and bottle it for use.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Mushroom + garlictop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,700 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,090 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Vinegar + garlictop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,115 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Mushroom + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together13,580 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,814 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Strong vinegar: Acts as the main preserving liquid and carries the flavors of the other ingredients.
Indian soy: Adds salty, savory depth to the sauce.
Mushroom catsup: Adds savory, umami richness to the sauce.
Anchovies: Contribute salty, savory depth that dissolves into the liquid over time.
Garlic: Adds pungent aroma and flavor to the infused vinegar.
Cayenne pepper: Adds heat and pungency to the sauce.