Name: The Dewey Cook Book
Ingredients: one pint of vinegar to each four pounds of fruit; 4 quarts vinegar; 2 pounds brown sugar; 2 tablespoonfuls allspice; 2 tablespoonfuls cloves; 2 tablespoonfuls ginger; 2 tablespoonfuls cinnamon; 2 tablespoonfuls mustard; 1 teaspoonful cayenne pepper; seven pounds ripe tomatoes; three pounds of sugar; one cup of salt mixed; one quart of onions; two cups of sugar; six tablespoonfuls of cloves; 1 ounce cloves; 1 gallon vinegar; 1 ounce cinnamon; 1 ounce allspice; 2 ounces mustard seed; two pounds of tomatoes take one pound of sugar; one pint of good vinegar; one pint of n6; a pound of sugar; a cup of salt; a pint of vinegar; an ounce of alum; a teaspoonful of cay- enne pepper; four pounds of fruit; one peck of green tomatoes

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 ↓

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.

Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,189 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together7,874 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Allspice + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,536 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,380 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,038 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

What each ingredient does

Green tomatoes: Form the bulk of the pickle and soften into the spiced brine as they cook.
Onions: Add savory bulk and a mild sharpness that softens during cooking.
Brown sugar: Balances the sharp vinegar with sweetness and helps build a thick, rich syrup.
Vinegar: Provides the acidity that preserves the pickle and gives it its tang.
Mustard seed: Adds a sharp, pungent flavour that stands up to the sweetness of the brine.

The step that matters

Salting and draining the vegetables overnight. Salt draws water out of the sliced tomatoes and onions by osmosis. Draining removes that liquid so the pickle stays firm and does not dilute the vinegar brine.

Swap the mustard

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

Capsicumfits about as well
Mustardthe original
Carrotfits about as well
Sweet potatofits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, sugar, allspice, clove, ginger, cinnamon, 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Allspice	1 tsp ground (1.9g)	5
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Fruit	not in our table	0
Seed	not in our table	0
Mace	not in our table	0

The Dewey Cook Book