Why it works: Tarragon and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,547 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Salting Tarragon Herb
Ingredients
Directions
Cut tarragon just as it begins to bud.
Chop the tarragon finely.
Combine the chopped tarragon with the vinegar.
Let the mixture stand for 6 weeks before using.
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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Tarragon + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,547 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tarragon herb
- Supplies the aromatic oils that flavour the vinegar as it steeps.
- Distilled vinegar
- Acts as the solvent that extracts tarragon flavour and carries it into the final liquid.
The step that matters
Letting the mixture stand for 6 weeks. Flavour compounds move from the herb into the vinegar slowly over time, so using it early yields a weak, underdeveloped taste. Full steeping time lets the infusion mature.
“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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