Name: Ripe Tomato Pickles
Ingredients: smooth, ripe tomatoes; pure cider vinegar; 1 egg white

Why it works: Cider and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,431 recipes. Both carry 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓

Ripe Tomato Pickles

Ingredients

smooth, ripe tomatoes
pure cider vinegar
1 egg white

Directions

Prepare

Wash the tomatoes in cold water and prick them with a coarse needle.
Pack the tomatoes tightly in a stone jar until full.

Pickle and seal

Heat enough cider vinegar to cover the tomatoes until boiling, then pour it over them.
On a piece of smooth brown paper, spread the egg white to cover it completely.
Place the paper egg side down in the jar, pinch the edges closed, and cover with tightly tied paper.
Once cool, store the jar in a cool, dark place.

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.

Cider + vinegartop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,431 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
Tomato + vinegartop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,063 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Tomato + cidertop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together524 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Vinegar + eggtop 33% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together12,922 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Cider + eggtop 34% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together838 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Vinegar and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,922 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Smooth, ripe tomatoes: Form the bulk of the pickle and absorb the vinegar as the main ingredient.
Pure cider vinegar: Adds acidity that preserves and sharpens the flavour of the tomatoes.
Egg white: Spread on paper and sealed against the jar, it forms a airtight cover that excludes air.