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Pickled Peaches

A method for preserving peaches in a lye, brine, and vinegar solution.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: White wine and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,776 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Pickled Peaches

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the peaches

  1. Dip peaches in hot lye for 2-3 minutes.

  2. Transfer peaches to clear water and wipe off the dirt.

  3. Make a strong brine and soak peaches for 2-3 days.

  4. Wash and wipe the peaches.

Pickle and store

  1. Place peaches in jars and cover with 1 quart of white wine vinegar and 1 pound of loaf sugar.

  2. Seal jars tightly and store in a dry, cool 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.

  1. White wine + vinegartop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,776 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  2. Peach + white winetop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together79 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  3. Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,806 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Peach + vinegartop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together348 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Peach + sugartop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,308 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

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

What each ingredient does

Peaches
The fruit being preserved, which takes on flavour from the vinegar and sugar.
White wine vinegar
Adds acidity that gives the pickle its sharp taste and helps preserve the fruit.
Loaf sugar
Provides sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
Coarse sea salt
Makes the brine that draws moisture and flavour into the peaches during soaking.

The step that matters

Hot lye dip. Hot lye is caustic, so timing and handling matter. Leaving peaches in too long or rinsing poorly can damage the fruit or leave residue, so each peach should be dipped for the stated 2-3 minutes and then thoroughly rinsed in clear water.

Swap the peach

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (white wine, vinegar, sugar):

  1. Plumfits better
  2. Strawberryfits better
  3. Applefits better
  4. Peachthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against white wine, vinegar, 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.

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