Why it works: Cucumber and cauliflower match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 584 recipes. Both carry 2-hexenal, which smells green, leafy. The science ↓
Mustard Pickles
Ingredients
Directions
In a large pot, dissolve a large handful of coarse sea salt in boiling water.
Add the cucumbers, gherkins, silver onions, cauliflowers, and green pepper to the pot.
Let the vegetables soak in the salted water for three nights, stirring occasionally.
After three nights, drain the vegetables well and they are ready for the sauce.
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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Cucumber + cauliflowertop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together584 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Cucumber + oniontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,050 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Cauliflower + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,113 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Onion + cauliflowertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together935 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cucumber, cauliflower, pepper):
- Broccolifits better
- Lettucefits better
- Radishfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cucumber, cauliflower, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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