Why it works: Tomato and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,063 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Catsup
Ingredients
Directions
Take some canned tomatoes.
Add vinegar and spices as in Chili sauce.
Boil slowly for about 30 minutes.
Strain if desired.
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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Tomato + vinegartop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,063 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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