Why it works: Cider and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,431 recipes. Both carry 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓
Vinegar Peaches
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the peaches
Peel one peck of Heath peaches (clingstones) overnight.
Sprinkle 1 pound of sugar over the peaches.
In the morning drain off the water, put the peaches in 1/2 pint of cider vinegar.
Cook and jar
Let the vinegar and juice boil together, adding a few peaches at a time.
Boil just enough so that you can stick a straw through the peaches (about 15 minutes).
Have your jars sitting in hot water on the stove.
Put peaches into jars as they get done.
When the jars are full, pour the syrup over them.
Fasten the jars while on the stove.
Let stay 15 minutes.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Peach | 1 medium (150g) | 59 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Cider | 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.
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Cider + vinegartop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,431 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
-
Cider + peachtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together90 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Vinegar + peachtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together348 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + peachtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,308 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Draws juice out of the peaches and helps form a sweet syrup.
- Cider vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the peaches a tangy flavor and helps preserve them.
The step that matters
Boil just enough to pierce with a straw. Boiling until the peaches are just tender, but not falling apart, keeps their shape. Overcooking softens the fruit into mush, while underdoing it leaves them firm and hard in the centre.
Swap the peach
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, cider, vinegar):
- Applefits better
- Plumfits better
- Pineapplefits better
- Peachthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, cider, vinegar. 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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