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Mustard Chow-chow

A relish of boiled cabbage, cauliflower, cucumbers, celery, peppers, onions, and green tomatoes in a mustard and vinegar dressing.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Goff, May Perrin, [from old catalog] ed · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Cabbage and cauliflower match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 305 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Mustard Chow-chow

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the vegetables

  1. Cut two heads of cabbage, two heads of cauliflower, one dozen cucumbers, six roots of celery, six peppers, one quart of small white onions, and two quarts green tomatoes into small pieces.

  2. Boil each vegetable separately until tender, then strain them.

Make the dressing and combine

  1. In a kettle, combine two gallons of vinegar, one-fourth pound of mustard, one-fourth pound of mustard seed, one pot of French mustard, one ounce of cloves, and two ounces of turmeric, and bring to a boil.

  2. Mix the boiled vegetables and pour the dressing over them.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

143Calories
7 gProtein
2 gFat
30 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Broccoli1 cup chopped (156g)55
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Seednot in our table0

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

By Goff, May Perrin, [from old catalog] ed. 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. Cabbage + cauliflowertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together305 recipes

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

  2. Cauliflower + mustardtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together687 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

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

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Cabbage + mustardtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,645 recipes

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

  5. Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,377 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Vinegar (in the method)
Provides the acidic liquid that preserves the vegetables and gives the pickle its sharp tang.
Cabbage
Adds crisp bulk that softens when boiled and absorbs the dressing.
Cauliflower
Adds firm florets that hold their shape and soak up the dressing.
Green tomatoes
Add tartness and body, softening slightly as they cook.
Mustard seed
Contributes sharp, pungent flavor that deepens as the pickle sits.
Turmeric (in the method)
Gives the pickle its golden-yellow color and earthy flavor.

The step that matters

Boil each vegetable separately until tender, then strain them.. Cooking each vegetable on its own lets it reach tenderness at its own pace, so firmer pieces are not overcooked into mush. Draining removes excess water so the vinegar dressing is not diluted and the pickle keeps its intended sharpness.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cabbage, cauliflower, onion, tomato, mustard, celery, pepper):

  1. Turmericfits better
  2. Tarragonfits better
  3. Capersfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cabbage, cauliflower, onion, tomato, mustard, celery, 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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