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 ↓
Pickled Cucumbers
Ingredients
Directions
Brine
Wash cucumbers carefully and place them in jars.
Prepare a weak brine by dissolving a handful of salt in a gallon and a half of water.
When the brine is scalding hot, turn over the cucumbers and cover them.
Repeat the brine process three mornings in succession, skimming thoroughly each time.
Vinegar and alum
On the fourth day, heat a porcelain kettle of vinegar and add a piece of alum the size of a wahiut.
When the vinegar is scalding hot, add cucumbers until they are covered, but do not let them boil; skim off the liquid as soon as it is scalded through and replace with more cucumbers, adding a small piece of alum each time.
Spice and store
When this process is complete, discard the vinegar and replace it with good cider or white wine vinegar; add spices, mustard seed, and red pepper.
Sort the pickles and place them in stone or glass jars, pouring the hot spiced vinegar over them, sealing the jars, and storing those not needed immediately.
The pickles will be fine and crisp after one year.
If kept in open-mouth jars, cover them with a cloth, removing and rinsing it occasionally.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Mustard | 1 tsp (5g) yellow | 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.
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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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cucumbers (in the method)
- Form the pickles themselves, taking on flavor and crispness as they are brined and pickled.
- Vinegar
- Provides the acidity that preserves and sharpens the pickles.
- Salt
- Draws water out of the cucumbers and seasons them during the brining stage.
- Alum
- Firms the cucumber tissue so the pickles stay crisp through the hot vinegar treatment.
- Mustard seed
- Adds pungent, sharp aroma and flavor to the spiced vinegar.
The step that matters
Keep the vinegar below a boil. Boiling the vinegar softens the cucumbers and drives off aroma, so the vinegar should only be scalding hot and the liquid skimmed off once heated through.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardthe original
- Cabbagefits about as well
- Cucumberfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, 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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