Why it works: Vinegar and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 20,806 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Green Tomato Sweet Pickle
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the tomatoes
Gather the tomatoes when fully grown, just before ripening.
Slice off the top and bottom, take out the seeds, and let them remain in salt and water two weeks.
Then soak in fresh water to take out the salt.
Cook and pour
Boil in alum water until tender, but not broken.
Boil the vinegar, sugar, white ginger, cloves, stick cinnamon, and mace together.
Pour over the tomatoes three times.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Salad | 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.
-
Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Tomato + vinegartop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,063 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Tomato + sugartop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,667 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tomatoes
- Form the bulk of the pickle and provide the firm, tender texture that the brining and alum water help preserve.
- Vinegar
- Adds the sharp acidity that gives the pickle its tang and helps preserve it.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vinegar, giving the pickle its sweet-sour flavor.
The step that matters
Boil in alum water until tender, but not broken. Alum firms the pectin in the tomato's cell walls, so the fruit holds its shape. Overboiling breaks down those walls, leaving the tomatoes soft and mushy instead of firm and whole.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, sugar):
- Mustardfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Cucumberfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, sugar. 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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