Name: English Chutney
Ingredients: 6 apples, finely chopped; 1 cup mint leaves, finely chopped; 3 tomatoes, finely chopped; 2 tablespoons salt; 12 small red peppers, finely chopped; 1 tablespoon mustard; 2 small onions, finely chopped; 2 cups sugar; 1 cup seeded raisins, finely chopped; 4 cups boiled and cooled vinegar

Why it works: Mustard and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,259 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

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.

Mustard + oniontop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,259 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,633 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,430 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Mint + peppertop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,372 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Vinegar: Provides acidity that gives the chutney its sharp flavour and helps preserve it.
Sugar: Adds sweetness that balances the vinegar's sharpness and helps preserve the chutney.
Apples: Supply bulk and tartness, and soften into the body of the chutney as it stands.
Seeded raisins: Add concentrated sweetness and a chewy texture.
Red peppers: Add bulk, colour and a mild sweetness to the mixture.
Mustard: Adds a sharp, pungent flavour that rounds out the sweet and sour notes.

The step that matters

Letting the mixture stand. The vinegar and sugar need time to draw flavour from the fruit and vegetables and blend into a cohesive chutney. Storing it in a cool place slows spoilage while this happens.

Swap the raisin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (apple, mint, tomato, pepper, mustard, onion, sugar):

Limefits better
Mangofits better
Cherryfits better
Raisinthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against apple, mint, tomato, pepper, mustard, onion, sugar. 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.

English Chutney