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Chopped Tomato Pickle

A pickled condiment made from chopped green tomatoes, salt, vinegar, cloves, celery seed, and onions.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Goff, May Perrin, [from old catalog] ed · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,668 recipes. Both carry gamma-decalactone, which smells peach, creamy. The science ↓

Chopped Tomato Pickle

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Chop green tomatoes finely.

  2. Add about three quarts of tomatoes to a stone jar, layering them with a scant cup of salt in alternate layers.

  3. Let the mixture stand overnight.

  4. Drain off the accumulated water.

Pickle and heat

  1. Cover the tomatoes with vinegar.

  2. Add half an ounce of whole cloves, half an ounce of celery seed, and about half a dozen small chopped onions.

  3. Place the jar over the stove and heat until it comes to a scald, but not boiling.

  4. Let it cool; the pickle is ready for use when cold.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

16Calories
0 gProtein
0 gFat
3 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Celery Seed1 stalk (40g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 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.

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. Clove + celerytop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,668 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).

  2. Clove + vinegartop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,386 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Celery + vinegartop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,627 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

Green tomatoes (in the method)
Form the main body of the pickle, softening into a tender, chutney-like texture.
Salt
Draws water out of the tomatoes, firming their texture and concentrating flavor.
Vinegar
Adds sharp acidity that balances the sweetness and keeps the pickle tangy.
Whole cloves
Contribute warm, aromatic spice to the pickle.
Celery seed
Adds a savory, aromatic note that complements the tomatoes.

The step that matters

Heat to a scald, not a boil. Heating only until the liquid scalds keeps the tomatoes intact. Prolonged boiling breaks down their structure, leaving the pickle mushy.

Swap the celery

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (clove, vinegar):

  1. Allspicefits better
  2. Cinnamonfits better
  3. Tarragonfits better
  4. Celerythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against clove, 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.

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