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Oil Pickle

A pickle of cucumbers and onions preserved in oil with salt, pepper, mustard, celery seed, alum, and vinegar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By United Methodist Church (Grayville, Ill.) · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Mustard and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,169 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Oil Pickle

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the vegetables

  1. Slice 300 small cucumbers finely.

  2. Slice 3 pints small white onions.

  3. Mix 1 cup salt with sliced cucumbers; let stand 1 hour.

  4. Put onions in cold water for 3 hours.

  5. Add a small piece of alum dissolved in hot water to keep them firm and green.

Make the pickle and pack

  1. Combine 2 ounces white ground pepper, 3 ounces mustard, 3 ounces celery seed, 2 cups olive oil.

  2. Mix all together with hands, adding enough cold cider vinegar so there will be plenty of liquid.

  3. Pack in glass jars as fruit.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

197Calories
3 gProtein
14 gFat
17 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Cucumber1/2 cup sliced (52g)16
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Celery Seed1 stalk (40g)6
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

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

By United Methodist Church (Grayville, Ill.). Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Mustard + celerytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,169 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  2. Mustard + cucumbertop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,281 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Pepper + celerytop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Onion + mustardtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,259 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Olive + cucumbertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,611 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Small cucumbers
Form the main body of the pickle, becoming crisp and firm once salted.
Salt
Draws water out of the cucumbers, firming them and seasoning the pickle.
Olive oil
Coats the vegetables and adds richness and moisture to the pickle.
Mustard
Adds sharp, pungent flavour that balances the oil and the vinegar.
Vinegar
Supplies acidity and the liquid that keeps the pickle preserved.

The step that matters

Adding the alum dissolved in hot water. Alum is a firming agent that tightens the vegetable tissue so it stays crisp and green. Too much can leave a harsh or bitter taste, so the small amount in the record must be measured carefully and dissolved fully before it is added.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, mustard, celery, olive, cucumber, vinegar):

  1. Lettucefits better
  2. Horseradishfits better
  3. Broccolifits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, mustard, celery, olive, cucumber, 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.

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