Why it works: Ketchup and anchovy match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 479 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Worcester Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Combine all ingredients in a large bottle.
Cover the bottle tightly and shake well every day for two weeks.
Rest and store
After two weeks, the sauce is ready for use and can be stored in well-corked bottles.
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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Ketchup + anchovytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together479 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together17,451 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Pepper + garlictop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,090 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Walnut + clovetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,592 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Clove + garlictop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,368 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Bordeaux vinegar
- Provides sharp acidity that brightens the sauce and helps preserve it.
- Walnut ketchup
- Adds dark, savory depth and a rich, fermented flavor.
- Essence of anchovy
- Contributes salty, savory umami that rounds out the sauce.
- Indian soy
- Adds salty, savory depth and a darker color to the liquid.
- Cayenne pepper
- Supplies pungent heat that gives the sauce its sharp finish.
- Garlic
- Adds pungent aroma that deepens the overall savory flavor.
The step that matters
Shaking the sealed bottle daily. Shaking keeps the solids and liquids in contact so flavors extract and blend evenly over the two weeks. Skipping it can leave the sauce unevenly flavored.
Swap the walnut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, ketchup, anchovy, pepper, clove, garlic):
- Beansfits about as well
- Walnutthe original
- Chickpeafits about as well
- Chestnutfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, ketchup, anchovy, pepper, clove, garlic. 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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