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Cucumber Mangoes

A pickled cucumber preserved with vinegar, alum, and a blend of spices.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 18 ingredients
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Why it works: Mustard and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,169 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Cucumber Mangoes

Ingredients

Directions

Brine and soften

  1. Soak cucumbers in weak salt and water for 5-6 days, weighted down to keep them submerged.

  2. Remove cucumbers.

  3. Place cucumbers in a preserving kettle with weak vinegar and alum.

  4. Scald cucumbers.

  5. Let cucumbers sit in the vinegar for 4-5 days.

  6. Remove cucumbers and wipe them dry.

Fill and pickle

  1. Cut a long slice (about 1 inch wide) from one side to remove the seeds.

  2. Mix cabbage, mustard seed, celery seed, allspice, mace, cloves, turmeric, pepper, cinnamon, ginger, and onions for the filling.

  3. Fill the cucumbers.

  4. Sew or tie the cucumbers up.

  5. Place the cucumbers in a jar.

  6. Pour boiling hot strong vinegar over the cucumbers.

  7. Add spices or horseradish and red peppers if desired.

  8. Seal the jar with heavy paper when cool.

  9. Store in a cool cellar.

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. Mustard + celerytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,169 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  2. Mustard + allspicetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,928 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

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

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

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

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

  5. Cucumber + cabbagetop 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

Cucumbers
Their firm flesh is softened by brining and vinegar, becoming crisp-tender and able to hold the filling.
Alum
Tightens the cucumber tissue, helping it stay firm through the long soaking and pickling.
Strong vinegar
Acidity preserves the pickle and sharpens its flavor.
Cabbage
Forms the bulk of the filling, adding body and crunch inside the cucumbers.
Mustard seed
Adds pungent, sharp flavor that carries through the spiced vinegar.
Onions
Add sharpness and savory depth to the filling.

The step that matters

Remove cucumbers and wipe them dry before filling. Surface water left on the cucumbers dilutes the filling and the vinegar, weakening flavor and preservation inside the jar.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cucumber, vinegar, walnut, cabbage, mustard, celery, allspice):

  1. Tarragonfits better
  2. Dillfits better
  3. Capersfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cucumber, vinegar, walnut, cabbage, mustard, celery, allspice. 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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