Why it works: Pepper and vinegar 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 ↓
To Make Yellow Pickle
Ingredients
Directions
PUT all the articles intended for the yellow pickle in a pot, and pour on them boiling salt and water — let them stand forty-eight hours, take advantage of a clear hot day, press the water from the articles, and lay them to dry in full sunshine, on a table covered with a thick soft cloth, with the corners pinned se- curely, that they may not blow up over the things — the cloth absorbs the moisture; and by turning them frequently on a dry place, they become white, and re- ceive the colour of the turmeric more readily — one day of clear sunshine is enough to prepare them for the first vinegar; When dried, put them in a pot of plain cold vinegar,- with a little turmeric in it — let them remain in it two weeks to draw off the water from them, and to make them plump — then put them in a clean pot, and pour on the vinegar, prepared by the following directions — this is the most economical and best way of keeping them — mix the turmeric very smoothly, before you add it to your pickles.
, " - TO MAKE GREEN PICKLES.
PUT the articles you intend to pickle, in a pot — and cover them with boiling salt and water: put a thick cloth on the top,, and then a plate that will fit it — let it stand till the next morning, then pour off the salt and water, boil it again, and cover them as before; do this until your pickles are a good green — then put them in plain cold vinegar, with some turmeric in it; and at the end of a fortnight, put them up, as you do the yellow pickle.
THE VIRGINIA HOUSEWIFE. i 167
TO PREPARE VINEGAR FOR GREEN OR YELLOW PICKLE,
ONE pound.gf ginger sliced and dried, one of horse- radish scraped and dried, one of mustard seed washed and dried, one ounce long pepper, an ounce of mace, and one of nutmegs finely pounded; put all these in- gredients in a pot, pour two gallons of strong vinegar on, and let it stand twelve months, stirring it very frequently. When this vinegar is used^or the pickles, put two gallons more vinegar, with some mace and nutmegs, and keep it for another year. When the prepared vinegar is poured from the ingredients, do it very carefully, that it may be quite clear. Pickles keep much better when the vinegar is not boiled. Should the green pickles at any time lose their colour, it may be restored by adding a little more turmeric. All pickles are best, when one or two years old.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Long Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Mace | 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.
-
Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Pepper + macetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,257 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Vinegar + macetop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,415 recipes
Pepper and mace barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,257 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, vinegar):
- Tarragonfits better
- Dillfits better
- Parsleyfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, vinegar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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