Name: Homemade Pickle Relish
Yield: Makes about 1 1/2 cups
Ingredients: 2 cups finely chopped cucumber (about 3 Kirby cucumbers); 1/2 cup finely chopped onion; 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar; 1/4 cup sugar; 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 teaspoon water

Why it works: Cucumber and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,050 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Homemade Pickle Relish

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

2 cups finely chopped cucumber (about 3 Kirby cucumbers)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 teaspoon water

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

567Calories

15 gProtein

1 gFat

121 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Cucumber	1/2 cup sliced (52g)	16
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Water	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By epicurious. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

Cucumber + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,050 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Cucumber + vinegartop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,734 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).
Onion + vinegartop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,226 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,806 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Cucumber + sugartop 26% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,112 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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, vinegar, sugar):

Radishfits better
Mustardfits better
Beetrootfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cucumber, vinegar, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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