Why it works: Vinegar and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,814 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Mustard Pickles
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the vegetables
Soak equal quantities of small cucumbers, button onions, cauliflower (picked apart), sliced green tomatoes, and two or three sliced green peppers in brine.
Drain the brine, as given in Pickle Cucumbers.
Make the mustard sauce
Prepare a mixture of one quart vinegar, one cup brown sugar, one-half cup flour, and one-half cup ground mustard to cover the vegetables.
Boil the sugar and vinegar for five minutes, skim, then mix the mustard and flour together, pour the hot vinegar slowly onto it, stirring until smooth.
Pack and mature
Pour the hot mixture over the pickles.
Let the pickles mature for three weeks before use.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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 + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Vinegar + flourtop 27% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,652 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 sharp acidity that preserves and flavours the pickles.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Flour
- Thickens the hot vinegar into a smooth, pourable sauce that clings to the vegetables.
- Ground mustard
- Gives the sauce its sharp, pungent flavour and yellow colour.
- Green peppers
- Add crisp texture and fresh, grassy flavour to the pickle mix.
The step that matters
Stirring the flour and mustard into the vinegar. Flour and ground mustard clump if the hot vinegar is poured in too fast or not stirred. Adding it slowly while stirring lets the starch hydrate evenly, giving a smooth, thickened sauce.
“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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