Name: Sweet Chili Sauce with Celeey
Ingredients: 1 peck (about 9 liters) ripe tomatoes, peeled and sliced; 4 bunches celery, chopped fine; 3 cups vinegar; 3 cups brown sugar; ½ cup coarse sea salt (formerly 'bay salt'); ¼ pound whole mixed spices, tied in a bag; 1 teaspoon pepper; 1 teaspoon mustard

Why it works: Celery and mustard are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,169 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Sweet Chili Sauce with Celeey

Ingredients

1 peck (about 9 liters) ripe tomatoes, peeled and sliced
4 bunches celery, chopped fine
3 cups vinegar
3 cups brown sugar
½ cup coarse sea salt (formerly 'bay salt')
¼ pound whole mixed spices, tied in a bag
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon mustard

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a large pot.
Bring to a boil over medium heat.
Reduce heat and simmer for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

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.

Celery + mustardtop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,169 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,377 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

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

Ripe tomatoes: Provide the main body, moisture and fruity flavor of the sauce as they cook down.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and helps balance the acidity of the vinegar.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that gives the sauce its tang and helps preserve it.
Celery: Contributes savory, vegetal flavor and body as it softens during simmering.

The step that matters

Simmer for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Long, gentle simmering lets water evaporate so the sauce thickens, while stirring prevents the sugar and tomato solids from scorching on the bottom of the pot.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (celery, vinegar, sugar, pepper, mustard):

Horseradishfits better
Capsicumfits better
Lettucefits better
Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against celery, vinegar, sugar, pepper, mustard. 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.

Mixed Mustard9 recipes

Wine Sauce (for stewed fruit)186 recipes

Caper Sauce180 recipes

Brown Sauce141 recipes

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Sweet Chili Sauce with Celeey