Why it works: Clove and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,451 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓
Tomato Pickles
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the tomatoes
Prick the tomatoes with a fork in several places.
Soak the tomatoes in a strong brine made with enough salt to float an egg for 8 days.
After 8 days, remove the tomatoes and soak them in vinegar for 24 hours, diluting the vinegar with ⅓ water if it's strong.
Pack and store
Layer the tomatoes and spices (mustard, cloves, pepper) alternately in a stone jar.
Pour cold vinegar over the layered tomatoes.
Let the pickles sit for one week before using.
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.
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Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together17,451 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Mustard + clovetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,829 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
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Mustard + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 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
- Tomatoes
- Form the body of the pickle, softening and absorbing flavour as they cure in brine and vinegar.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws water out of the tomatoes through the brine, firming them and seasoning them for preserving.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and helps keep the pickles preserved.
- Mustard
- Adds a sharp, pungent flavour that layers with the spices in the jar.
- Ground cloves
- Contributes warm, aromatic spice flavour throughout the pickles.
The step that matters
Soaking in the strong brine. The brine must be strong enough to float an egg, because salt draws water out of the tomatoes and firms them. Too weak a brine leaves the tomatoes soft and open to spoilage during the long soak.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mustard, clove, pepper, vinegar):
- Horseradishfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Lettucefits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mustard, clove, pepper, 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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