Why it works: Vinegar and mustard are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,067 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Mustard Pickles
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
In a bowl, mix vinegar, mustard, and spices to form a thin paste.
Prepare your vegetables by washing and cutting them into desired sizes.
Pickle and rest
Combine the vegetables with the mustard mixture in a jar.
Seal the jar and let it sit for at least 24 hours before serving.
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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Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 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
- Vinegar
- Provides the acidity that preserves the vegetables and gives the pickles their sharp flavor.
- Mustard
- Adds pungent flavor and thickens the vinegar into a paste that coats the vegetables.
The step that matters
Letting the jar sit for at least 24 hours. The vegetables need time to soak in the vinegar and mustard mixture so the acidity and flavor penetrate them. Serving too early leaves the pickles sharp on the outside and bland inside.
“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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