Why it works: Pepper and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,395 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Mushroom Catsup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the mushrooms
Select fresh, large mushrooms with delicate pink gills.
Discard any mushrooms that are black.
Place mushrooms in a deep stone or earthen pan.
Layer the pan with coarse sea salt.
After 2-3 hours, mash the mushrooms with your hands.
Stir the mixture daily for two days.
Add black pepper to the mixture.
Add allspice to the mixture.
Cook and reduce
Transfer the mixture to a stone jar.
Seal the jar tightly.
Place the jar in a pot of boiling water.
Boil for at least 2 hours.
Remove the jar.
Strain the juice through a fine sieve into a clean pan without pressing the mushrooms.
Gently boil the strained juice until reduced by half.
Skim off any foam.
Transfer the reduced catsup to a clean jar.
Cover the jar.
Let it sit in a cool place overnight.
Clarify and bottle
Carefully pour off the clear liquid.
Strain the liquid through a jelly bag.
Add brandy to each pint of catsup.
Let the mixture settle.
Pour the catsup into rinsed bottles.
Cork the bottles tightly.
Seal with bottle cement.
Store in a cool, dry place.
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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Pepper + allspicetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,395 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Mushroom + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Mushroom + brandytop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together206 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Mushroom + allspicetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together717 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
-
Allspice + brandytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together931 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
- Fresh large mushrooms
- Provide the main body and flavour of the ketchup as they break down in salt.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws moisture out of the mushrooms and preserves the mixture.
- Whole black pepper
- Adds warm, sharp spice that flavours the concentrated liquid.
- Whole allspice
- Adds aromatic, warm spice notes to the ketchup.
- Best brandy
- Adds alcohol that helps preserve the finished catsup and adds aroma.
The step that matters
Do not press the mushrooms when straining. Pressing forces cloudy solids through the sieve, which makes the juice murky and can add bitter or gritty material. Letting the juice drip through keeps the final catsup clear.
Swap the allspice
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mushroom, pepper, brandy):
- Thymefits better
- Clovefits better
- Marjoramfits better
- Allspicethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mushroom, pepper, brandy. 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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