Why it works: Clove and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,386 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Watermelon Preserves
Ingredients
Directions
Mrs. Thomas Beckett.
Pare off the dark-green rind and scrape the soft pulp from the melon. Cut in pieces about 2 inches long and il/2 wide; soak in brine over night, rinse in clear, running water, and soak over night in alum water. (Ten cents' worth of alum will make a strong solution in water to cover the rind from fair-sized melon.) Rinse in running water ; soak another night in clear water ; weigh melon, and sugar pound for pound. Place sugar with just enough water to dissolve it in a preserving kettle. Boil syrup hard for 15 minutes; drop in melon; boil slowly at least 3 hours. Place squares on platters and place in hot sun to bleach 1 hour. Add to syrup 24 whole cloves, juice and rind of 2 lem- ons ; the rind cut small and cooked tender in a little water first. Add about Y^ cup vinegar. Boil the melon again in this spiced syrup about 10 minutes ; take out once more to bleach ; put back to heat in syrup. Put in jars with syrup in each, although do not allow syrup to become dark, nor boil, while your rind is bleaching.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Clove | 1 tsp ground (2g) | 7 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Water | not in our table | 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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Clove + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,386 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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