Why it works: Allspice and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,620 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Ketchup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the mushrooms
Gather fresh mushrooms before they discolor and wipe them with a clean cloth.
Break the mushrooms into pieces in a large earthen pan.
For every three handfuls of mushrooms, add one handful of coarse sea salt.
Stir the mixture two to three times a day until the salt dissolves and the mushrooms liquefy.
Bruise any remaining bits.
Extract and flavor
Place the mixture over gentle heat to extract the flavor.
Strain the hot liquid through a fine sieve.
Boil the strained liquid gently with allspice, black pepper, ginger, horseradish, onion or shallots, and laurel leaves.
After simmering, strain the mixture into bottles.
Seal and preserve
Once cooled, seal the bottles with cork and bladder.
To preserve for a year, boil again after three months with fresh spices and sliced horseradish.
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.
-
Allspice + gingertop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,620 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Allspice + laureltop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together627 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Allspice + horseradishtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together654 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Allspice + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,395 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Horseradish + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,784 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fresh mushrooms
- Provide the main flavor and the liquid that becomes the ketchup.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws water out of the mushrooms and preserves the mixture as it liquefies.
- Allspice
- Adds warm, aromatic spice notes to the strained liquid.
- Ginger
- Adds a sharp, aromatic warmth to the simmered liquid.
- Horseradish
- Adds pungent heat and aroma that carries through the simmered liquid.
The step that matters
Stirring while the salt draws out liquid. Salt must fully dissolve and the mushrooms must break down into liquid before extraction. Stirring regularly distributes the salt evenly so the mushrooms ferment and liquefy without spoiling in pockets of unsalted mush.
Swap the horseradish
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mushroom, allspice, pepper, ginger, onion, laurel):
- Carrotfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Horseradishthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mushroom, allspice, pepper, ginger, onion, laurel. 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.
More mushroom ketchup recipes
You might also like
Mushroom Soup60 recipes
Horseradish Sauce17 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.