Why it works: Clove and mace are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,400 recipes. Both carry methyleugenol, which smells clove, spice. The science ↓
Made Mustard
Ingredients
Directions
In a saucepan, combine water and vinegar.
Heat until warm, then whisk in cornstarch until thickened.
Remove from heat and stir in mustard, cloves, mace, paprika, and cayenne.
Allow to cool before serving.
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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Clove + macetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,400 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
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Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Mustard + clovetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,829 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
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Vinegar + clovetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,386 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Vinegar + macetop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,415 recipes
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the liquid into a smooth sauce as it heats and gelatinizes.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the sauce its sharp, tangy bite.
- Mustard
- Supplies the main sharp flavor and pungency of the sauce.
The step that matters
Whisk in the cornstarch while heating. Cornstarch must be heated to thicken, and whisking keeps it dispersed so it does not form lumps. Stirring it in cold or unevenly leaves clumps and an uneven texture.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, mustard, clove):
- Allspicefits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Capersfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, mustard, 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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