Why it works: Vinegar and mustard are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,067 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Cecelia Bart a
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cucumbers
Peel cucumbers, cut in lengthwise pieces, remove seeds, sprinkle with salt, and let stand overnight.
In the morning, drain cucumbers, scald with boiling water, and let stand about four hours.
Make the pickles
Put vinegar and sugar to boil, then add a part of the cucumbers, boil until clear, place into jars, adding more to boil until all are used.
Chop red peppers, add celery seed and peppers to jars, pour over the boiling vinegar, and seal.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Mustard | 1 tsp (5g) yellow | 3 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Seed | 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.
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 + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Sugar + mustardtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,424 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Yellow cucumbers
- Form the bulk of the pickles and stay crisp-textured when salted and scalded first.
- Vinegar
- Provides the acidity that preserves the pickles and gives them their sharp flavour.
- Sugar
- Balances the sharpness of the vinegar and adds sweetness to the pickles.
- Mustard seed
- Adds a pungent, earthy flavour that defines the pickle's character.
The step that matters
Boil the cucumbers until clear. Boiling the cucumber pieces in the hot sweet vinegar until they turn clear lets them absorb the syrup and fully heat through. Adding them to jars in small batches keeps the boiling vinegar at temperature so the pickles are properly cooked and sealed.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, sugar, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardthe original
- Cabbagefits less well
- Cucumberfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, sugar, pepper. 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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