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Salted Cucumbers

A method for preserving cucumbers and green tomatoes in a brine with salt, sugar, spices, and vinegar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Martin, Maria Ewing, Mrs., [from old catalog] comp · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Salted Cucumbers

Ingredients

Directions

Salt the cucumbers

  1. Put good unbroken cucumbers in a cask or jar in alternate layers with coarse salt in inch thick layers; cover with cabbage or horse-radish leaves, then with a board and a weight, and pour 1 quart water over.

  2. Fresh layers of cucumbers and salt may be added, picking the fruit in the morning or evening.

  3. When nearly full, tuck a cloth tight over the top, cover with the board and weight, and they will keep in the brine 1 or 2 years.

  4. Take out as they are wanted to use, skimming the brine and washing cloth and board before replacing.

Freshen and finish the pickles

  1. To use the pickles, soak 3 days in fresh water, changing it daily, put in a kettle with a lump of alum, cover with good vinegar, and bring to the boil; throw away this vinegar and finish pickling according to any recipe liked.

  2. Beans of any kind, corn, or sliced green tomatoes may be salted down in this way.

Make the green tomato pickle

  1. Take 1 peck green tomatoes, and 4 green peppers; slice them and put in a dish in layers.

  2. Sprinkle over them 1 cup salt, and let remain over night.

  3. In the morning press dry through a sieve.

  4. Put in a porcelain kettle, cover with vinegar, add 1 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon each kind of spice in a muslin bag; stew slowly about 1 hour, or until done.

  5. If onions are liked, add eight sliced.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

80Calories
1 gProtein
0 gFat
19 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot 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 Martin, Maria Ewing, Mrs., [from old catalog] comp. 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. Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

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

  2. Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

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

  3. Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,806 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Tomato + vinegartop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,063 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Sugar + peppertop 32% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together19,401 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Sugar and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 19,401 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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 crisp body of the pickle once salted and brined.
Coarse salt
Draws out moisture and preserves the fruit in the brine.
Green tomatoes
Provide the main bulk of the pickle, softening as they stew in vinegar.
Vinegar
Supplies acidity that preserves and gives the pickle its sharp flavor.
Sugar
Balances the sharpness of the vinegar with sweetness.

The step that matters

Pressing the salted tomatoes dry. Salt draws water out of the tomatoes; pressing them dry removes that liquid so the vinegar and sugar stew properly instead of being diluted.

Swap the tomato

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

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Mustardfits better
  3. Cabbagefits better
  4. Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, pepper, 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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