Why it works: Mustard and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,259 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Tomato Pickle
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Slice green tomatoes thin, sprinkle with salt, and let stand one night.
Slice twelve onions and add them to the tomatoes.
Cook
Boil the tomatoes and onions in vinegar for two hours with spices, including mustard seed, ground mustard, turmeric, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, salt, and brown sugar.
Add four ounces of white pickles and catsups.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Clove | 1 tsp ground (2g) | 7 |
| Mustard | 1 tsp (5g) yellow | 3 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Salt | 1 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.
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.
-
Mustard + oniontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,259 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Mustard + clovetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,829 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
-
Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Mustard + tomatotop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,482 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Green tomatoes
- Form the bulk of the pickle and soften into a tender, chunky texture when boiled.
- Onions
- Add savory bulk and sweetness that mellows as they cook in the vinegar.
- Vinegar
- Provides the acidity that preserves the pickle and gives it its sharp tang.
- Brown sugar
- Balances the acidity of the vinegar with sweetness and deepens the color.
The step that matters
Boiling the tomatoes and onions with vinegar for two hours. Long simmering softens the vegetables and lets the vinegar and spices penetrate. Too brief a boil leaves the pickle raw-tasting and less stable, while overcooking can turn it mushy.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mustard, clove, sugar, onion, vinegar):
- Horseradishfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Radishfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mustard, clove, sugar, onion, 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.
More tomato pickle recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Cream of Tomato Soup107 recipes
Tomato Bisque61 recipes
Cream Tomato Soup28 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.