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Piccadilli Pickles

A pickled mixture of cabbage, cucumbers, green peppers, onions, and tomatoes in a seasoned brine.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Cucumber and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,281 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Piccadilli Pickles

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Chop the cabbage, cucumbers, green peppers, white onions, and green tomatoes finely.

  2. Combine all ingredients in a large pot.

Cook

  1. Cook over low heat for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

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. Cucumber + mustardtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,281 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Cabbage + mustardtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,645 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Cucumber + tomatotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,405 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,081 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Cabbage + cucumbertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together722 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

What each ingredient does

Cabbage
Forms the bulk of the pickle and gives it a firm, crisp bite.
Cucumbers
Add crunch and fresh moisture that softens as the mixture cooks.
Green tomatoes
Add tartness and body to the chopped mixture.
Sugar
Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vegetables and spices.
Mixed spices
Provide the main aroma and warm, savory flavor.
Mustard seed
Adds a sharp, pungent flavor that deepens during cooking.

The step that matters

Cooking over low heat with occasional stirring. The chopped vegetables release water and the sugar can scorch on the base of the pot. Low heat and regular stirring cook the mixture evenly and prevent sticking and burning during the long simmer.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cabbage, cucumber, pepper, tomato, mustard, sugar):

  1. Lettucefits better
  2. Horseradishfits better
  3. Broccolifits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cabbage, cucumber, pepper, tomato, mustard, 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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