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Delicious Mixed Pickle

A pickled mixture of tomatoes, celery, cucumber, peppers, onions, and cabbage in vinegar, salt, sugar, mustard, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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Why it works: Celery and mustard are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,169 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Delicious Mixed Pickle

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Chop the green tomatoes, red tomatoes, celery, cucumbers, peppers, onions, and cabbage together.

  2. Add one-half cup salt and let stand until morning.

  3. Add two pints vinegar, two pounds brown sugar, one teaspoon mustard, and one teaspoon black pepper.

  4. Cook until done and seal.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

210Calories
8 gProtein
2 gFat
47 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Broccoli1 cup chopped (156g)55
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Cucumber1/2 cup sliced (52g)16
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
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 Mary Elizabeth Lyles Wilson (1860–1924). 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. Celery + mustardtop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,169 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  2. Mustard + cucumbertop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,281 recipes

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

  3. Mustard + cabbagetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,645 recipes

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

  4. Tomato + cucumbertop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,405 recipes

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

  5. Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,377 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 and red tomatoes
Provide the bulk and body of the pickle mixture.
Salt
Draws out moisture from the vegetables so they soften and become crisp-tender during standing.
Vinegar
Provides the acidity that preserves the pickle and gives it its sharp flavor.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
Cabbage
Adds bulk and a crisp texture to the mixed vegetables.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (celery, vinegar, sugar, mustard, onion, cabbage, cucumber):

  1. Horseradishfits better
  2. Lettucefits better
  3. Broccolifits better
  4. Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against celery, vinegar, sugar, mustard, onion, cabbage, cucumber. 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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