Why it works: Vinegar and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,814 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Pepper Vinegar
Ingredients
Directions
Take one dozen pepper pods when ripe, remove stems, and cut them in two.
Put the cut pepper pods in a kettle with three pints of vinegar.
Boil the mixture until it reduces to one quart.
Strain the liquid through a sieve.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
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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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
- Provides the acidic liquid that extracts flavor from the peppers and acts as the base of the sauce.
- Pepper pods
- Supply the heat and pepper flavor that the vinegar draws out during boiling.
The step that matters
Boil the mixture until it reduces to one quart. Reducing by boiling concentrates the vinegar and pepper flavor. Stopping too early leaves a weak, thin liquid, while over-reducing makes it harsh and overly strong.
“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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