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Pickled Plums

Pickled plums preserved in a sweet vinegar solution with spices.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 20 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and clove 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 ↓

Pickled Plums

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Combine seven pounds plums, four pounds sugar, two ounces stick cinnamon, two ounces cloves, one quart vinegar, and a little mace.

  2. Layer plums and spices alternately in a jar.

Pickle

  1. Scald the vinegar and sugar together and pour the hot liquid over the plums.

  2. Repeat the layering and scalding three more times for plums (only once for cut apples and pears).

  3. Scald all together the fourth time.

Seal and store

  1. Transfer the plums into glass jars and seal; they are ready for use.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

196Calories
1 gProtein
1 gFat
50 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Apple1 medium (182g)95
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Plum1 medium (66g)30
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Macenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

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.

  1. Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Plum + appletop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together404 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Cinnamon + appletop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,598 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

  4. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  5. Plum + cinnamontop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together513 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

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

What each ingredient does

Plums
Form the main fruit, softening as they pickle and absorbing the spiced syrup.
Sugar
Sweetness that balances the vinegar and helps preserve the fruit.
Vinegar
Acidity that sharpens the flavour and helps preserve the fruit.
Cinnamon
Aroma and warm spice flavour carried into the fruit by the hot syrup.
Cloves
Aroma and warm spice flavour carried into the fruit by the hot syrup.

The step that matters

Repeated scalding of the syrup. Pouring hot vinegar and sugar over the fruit repeatedly draws out moisture and lets the syrup penetrate the plums, which builds flavour and helps preserve the fruit. Skipping or shortening the repeats leaves the fruit less flavoured and less well preserved.

Swap the mace

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

  1. Allspicefits better
  2. Cardamomfits better
  3. Nutmegfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against plum, sugar, cinnamon, clove, vinegar, apple, 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.

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