Why it works: Cauliflower and turmeric match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 514 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
Mustard Pickles
Ingredients
Directions
Brine the vegetables
Make a brine with the water and salt.
Pour the brine over the vegetables.
Let the vegetables stand for 24 hours.
Heat the brine to almost boiling.
Drain the vegetables.
Make the mustard sauce
In a saucepan, mix the flour, mustard, and turmeric with enough cold vinegar to make a smooth paste.
Add the sugar and enough vinegar to make a total of 2 quarts.
Boil the mixture until thick, stirring constantly.
Combine and jar
Add the vegetables to the mixture.
Boil until heated through.
Divide into sterilized jars.
Cover.
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.
-
Cauliflower + turmerictop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together514 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Cauliflower + mustardtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together687 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
-
Mustard + turmerictop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,279 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Flour + turmerictop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,637 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Onion + mustardtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,259 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
What each ingredient does
- Cauliflower
- Provides the firm, crisp vegetable base that holds its shape in the pickling sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the mustard sauce into a smooth, cohesive coating for the vegetables.
- Ground mustard
- Supplies the sharp, pungent flavor that defines the pickle.
- Turmeric
- Gives the sauce its characteristic yellow color and a mild earthy aroma.
- Sugar
- Balances the sharpness of the vinegar with sweetness.
- Vinegar
- Provides the acidity that preserves and flavors the pickle.
The step that matters
Boil the mixture until thick, stirring constantly. Flour thickens only when it is heated and stirred, and it can scorch or form lumps if left unattended on the heat. Stirring keeps the starch dispersed so the sauce turns smooth and evenly thick before the vegetables are added.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cauliflower, flour, mustard, turmeric, sugar, vinegar):
- Horseradishfits better
- Broccolifits better
- Shallotfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cauliflower, flour, mustard, turmeric, sugar, vinegar. 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.
More mustard pickles recipes
You might also like
Cauliflower Soup28 recipes
Cream of Cauliflower Soup22 recipes
Creamed Cauliflower17 recipes
Escalloped Cauliflower9 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.