Why it works: Allspice and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,874 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Chili Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Chop the tomatoes, onion, and red peppers finely.
Combine all ingredients in a pot.
Boil until the mixture thickens.
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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Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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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 + allspicetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,395 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ripe tomatoes
- Provide the main body, moisture and tangy base of the sauce.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and, as it thickens the mixture, helps create a syrupy body.
- Onion
- Adds savory depth and aromatic flavor as it cooks down.
- Red peppers
- Contribute sweetness, color and a mild pepper flavor to the sauce.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens flavor and helps preserve the sauce's balance.
- Ground allspice
- Adds warm, aromatic spice notes that round out the sauce.
The step that matters
Boil until the mixture thickens. Thickening happens as water evaporates and sugar and pectin concentrate, so the sauce needs sustained boiling. Stopping too early leaves it thin, while overcooking can scorch the sugars on the bottom of the pot.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, sugar, pepper, vinegar, allspice, clove):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardfits better
- Cucumberfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, sugar, pepper, vinegar, allspice, clove. 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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