Name: To Pickle Nastertiums
Ingredients: salt; vinegar; mace; black pepper

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 ↓

To Pickle Nastertiums

Ingredients

salt
vinegar
mace
black pepper

Directions

Prepare

Gather the nasturtium flowers when fully grown but still young, put them in a pot, and pour boiling salt and water over them.

Pickle

Let them stand three or four days; then drain off the water, cover them with cold vinegar, add a few blades of mace, and whole grains of black pepper.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

9Calories

0 gProtein

0 gFat

2 gCarbs

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
Black 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.

By Mary Randolph (1762–1828). 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.

Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,814 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Mace + peppertop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together12,257 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Vinegar + macetop 25% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together4,415 recipes

Mace and pepper 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

What each ingredient does

Vinegar: Adds acidity that preserves the flowers and gives them a sharp, tangy flavour.
Mace: Contributes a warm, aromatic spice flavour to the pickling liquid.
Black pepper: Adds a sharp, pungent aroma and gentle heat to the pickle.