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Gooseberry Catsup

A preserved condiment made from vinegar, gooseberries, raisins, onions, chilies, and spices, strained and stored.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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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 ↓

Gooseberry Catsup

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Boil the vinegar, gooseberries, raisins, onions, and chilies until soft.

  2. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into the remaining ingredients. Mix well and store in a cool place.

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.

  1. Allspice + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,620 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Mustard + allspicetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,928 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

  3. Mustard + oniontop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,259 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Allspice + macetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

  5. Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,067 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Green gooseberries
Provide the fruit base and natural pectin that gives the ketchup body as it cooks down.
Vinegar
Acts as the main liquid and preservative, giving the ketchup its sharp, acidic bite.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and depth, balancing the sharpness of the vinegar and fruit.
Raisins
Contribute sweetness and body, softening into the mixture as it boils.
Mustard
Adds pungency and sharp flavour that complements the spices.
Onions
Add savoury depth and aromatic flavour as they soften in the boil.

The step that matters

Boiling until soft. The mixture must cook long enough for the gooseberries, onions and raisins to break down fully. Under-cooked fruit leaves a coarse, uneven texture that the fine sieve cannot fully smooth out.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, sugar, raisin, mustard, onion, allspice, ginger):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Clovefits better
  3. Cardamomfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, sugar, raisin, mustard, onion, allspice, ginger. 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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