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French Chow Chow

A pickled vegetable mixture of cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers, cauliflower, and spices.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Warren, Pa. Presbyterian church. Second auxiliary missionary society. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 15 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

French Chow Chow

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the vegetables

  1. Cut 1 quart large green cucumbers into pieces, 1 quart very small cucumbers, 1 quart button onions, 1 quart green tomatoes into pieces, 1 large cauliflower into small pieces, and 4 large green peppers into coarse bits.

  2. Put all vegetables in weak brine and let stand for 24 hours.

  3. Scald vegetables in the same brine and drain through cheesecloth.

Make the mustard paste

  1. Make a paste of 6 tablespoons Coleman's mustard, 1 cup flour, 1 cup brown sugar, and about 2 quarts cider vinegar. First moisten dry materials with a little vinegar, then add the remainder; put on stove, stirring continually until smooth and thick.

  2. Add all pickles used, double the above amount, and have over 6 quarts.

Cook and finish

  1. Slice 1 peck green tomatoes and 6 large onions; sprinkle 1 teacup salt over them overnight and drain thoroughly. In the morning boil in 2 cups water and 1 quart vinegar for 15–20 minutes and drain.

  2. Take 4 quarts vinegar, 2 pounds brown sugar, 2 pounds white mustard seeds, 2 tablespoons cloves, and 2 tablespoons cinnamon. Add 2 of ginger, 2 of ground mustard, and 1 of cayenne pepper; put all together and cook 15 minutes.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

140Calories
3 gProtein
1 gFat
33 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 10 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Flowernot 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 Warren, Pa. Presbyterian church. Second auxiliary missionary society. [from old catalog]. 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 + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  3. Mustard + oniontop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,259 recipes

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

  4. Mustard + cinnamontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,581 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

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

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Green tomatoes
Hold their shape and add tartness that balances the sweet spiced syrup.
Cauliflower (in the method)
Adds firm bulk and texture that stays crisp-tender after brining and scalding.
Onions
Add savory sweetness and body as they soften during cooking.
Coleman's mustard
Adds sharp pungency and flavor to the paste that coats the vegetables.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and depth that balances the sharp vinegar.
Vinegar
Provides the acidity that preserves the pickles and gives them their tang.

The step that matters

Stirring the mustard paste. Flour and mustard can clump or scorch on the heat. Stirring constantly while adding the liquid slowly keeps the paste smooth and lets the starch thicken evenly before it is mixed into the vegetables.

Swap the onion

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

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Horseradishfits better
  3. Lettucefits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mustard, sugar, clove, cinnamon, pepper, tomato, 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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