Why it works: Celery and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,012 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Pepper Relish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Chop the green and red peppers, onions, and celery finely.
Cover the chopped ingredients with boiling water, let stand 5 minutes, then drain.
Cook and can
Add vinegar, sugar, salt, and 2 tablespoons white mustard seed.
Boil for 2 hours and can while hot.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Celery | 1 stalk (40g) | 6 |
| Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Seed | 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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Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Celery + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,518 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Vinegar + oniontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,226 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
-
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
- Vinegar
- Adds the acidity that gives the relish its tang and helps preserve it.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
- White mustard seed
- Contributes a sharp, pungent flavor to the relish.
- Green and red peppers
- Make up most of the bulk and give the relish its body and texture.
- Onions
- Add savory sweetness and bulk to the chopped mixture.
The step that matters
Boil for 2 hours and can while hot. The long boil softens the vegetables and concentrates the vinegar-sugar liquid. That acidic, sugared liquid is what keeps the relish stable in the jar, so the boil should be complete before canning.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, celery, vinegar, pepper):
- Mustardfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, celery, 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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