Name: Ripe Tomato Pickle
Ingredients: 3 pints tomatoes, peeled and chopped; 1 cup chopped celery; 4 tablespoons chopped red pepper; 4 tablespoons chopped onion; 4 tablespoons salt; 6 tablespoons sugar; 6 tablespoons mustard seed; ½ teaspoon clove; ½ teaspoon cinnamon; 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg; 2 cups vinegar

Why it works: Clove and cinnamon 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 ↓

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.

Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,189 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Celery + mustardtop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,169 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,377 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 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

Tomatoes: Provide the main bulk and moisture of the pickle.
Salt: Draws out moisture and seasons the mixture while it stands.
Sugar: Balances the sharpness of the vinegar and adds sweetness.
Vinegar: Provides acidity that preserves the mixture and sharpens its flavor.
Mustard seed: Adds pungent, slightly bitter flavor and a bit of texture.

The step that matters

Letting the mixture stand a week. The uncooked mixture needs time for salt, sugar and vinegar to draw out juices and blend flavors. Using it too early leaves the ingredients harsh and separate in taste.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, celery, pepper, sugar, mustard, clove, cinnamon):

Capsicumfits better
Carrotfits better
Lettucefits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, celery, pepper, sugar, mustard, clove, cinnamon. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Seed	not in our table	0

Ripe Tomato Pickle