Why it works: Lemon and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 20% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,334 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
To Pickle Lemons Without the Peel
Ingredients
Directions
Peel the lemons and make 3 slits in each, without cutting them in half.
Rub the salt into the slits and place the lemons in a pan for a week, turning them every other day.
Dry the lemons in a Dutch oven before a clear fire until the salt is completely dry.
Arrange the lemons in a jar and cover them with boiling vinegar mixed with the additional ingredients.
Seal the jar tightly and let it sit for about 9 months 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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Lemon + vinegartop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,334 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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