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Pickled Figs

A preservation of figs in a cinnamon and clove infused vinegar syrup.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 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 Figs

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the jars

  1. Place figs in jars with cinnamon bark and cloves.

Make the syrup

  1. In a pot, combine vinegar and sugar to make a syrup.

  2. Boil the syrup and pour it into the jars over the figs.

  3. Seal the jars tightly.

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.

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. Fig + cinnamontop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together614 recipes

    Shared aroma: cinnamyl acetate (sweet aromatic, cinnamon).

  3. Fig + clovetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together404 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  4. Cinnamon + sugartop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together30,779 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,806 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Cinnamon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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

Figs
Provide the main fruit, which softens and absorbs the pickling syrup as it sits.
Vinegar
Provides acidity that preserves the figs and gives the pickle its sharp flavor.
Sugar
Balances the vinegar's sharpness and helps form a sweet, syrupy liquid.
Cinnamon bark
Adds warm, aromatic flavor that infuses into the figs and syrup.
Cloves
Adds warm, aromatic spice that infuses into the figs and syrup.

The step that matters

Boil the syrup and pour it over the figs. Boiling dissolves the sugar fully and heats the vinegar syrup so it can penetrate the figs and help keep the jars safely preserved once sealed.

Swap the fig

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

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Quincefits about as well
  3. Figthe original
  4. Applefits about as well

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