Why it works: Vinegar and mustard are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,067 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Pickled Cabbage
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cabbage
Take nice heads of purple cabbage and pull off the loose leaves.
Slice from the top of the head across the cabbage in slices of about half an inch in thickness.
Place in a stone jar, sprinkle well with salt, and let stand twenty-four hours.
Pickle
Prepare the vinegar: to a gallon add one ounce mace, one ounce peppercorns (whole black pepper), and a little mustard seed.
Drain the cabbage, put it back in the jar, scald the vinegar and spices, and pour over the cabbage, repeating the scalding operation two or three times, and cover the jar very tight.
When done, the cabbage will be a handsome red color and very ornamental to the table.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Corn | 1/2 cup kernels (82g) | 77 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Mustard | 1 tsp (5g) yellow | 3 |
| 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.
-
Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Pepper + corntop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,324 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Corn + mustardtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together463 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Pepper + vinegartop 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
- Purple cabbage (in the method)
- Forms the bulk of the pickle and supplies the red colour as it cooks in the acidic vinegar.
- Vinegar
- Provides the acidity that preserves the cabbage and sets its bright red colour.
- Mace
- Adds a warm, aromatic flavour to the pickling liquid.
- Black pepper
- Adds sharp, aromatic heat to the pickling liquid.
- Mustard seed
- Adds a pungent, sharp flavour to the pickling liquid.
The step that matters
Scalding the vinegar and pouring it over the cabbage. Pouring the hot, acidic liquid repeatedly and then sealing the jar tightly helps the cabbage absorb the vinegar and spices and keeps the pickle stable. Too little scalding leaves the cabbage less flavoured and less well preserved.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, corn, vinegar, mustard):
- Tarragonfits better
- Dillfits better
- Celeryfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, corn, vinegar, mustard. 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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