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To Pickle Shrimps

A method for pickling shrimps in a vinegar solution with allspice, sweet oil, and brandy-wetted paper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Vinegar and allspice are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,548 recipes. Both carry 2-methylbutyl acetate, which smells fruit. The science ↓

To Pickle Shrimps

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Pick the shrimps and rinse them well in salt and water.

Pickle

  1. In a pot, combine 2 parts strong vinegar and 1 part water with a few allspice; bring to a boil.

  2. Pour the hot pickle over the shrimps, ensuring they are completely covered.

Preserve and ship

  1. If shipping, boil the pickle again, adding a little more vinegar and sweet oil.

  2. Cover the top with a paper wet with brandy to preserve them.

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. Vinegar + allspicetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,548 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).

  2. Vinegar + brandytop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together344 recipes

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

  3. Allspice + brandytop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together931 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  4. Shrimp + vinegartop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together862 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-methylbutanol (malty, whiskey).

  5. Shrimp + allspicetop 30% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together80 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).

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

What each ingredient does

Shrimps
The main protein, which the pickle preserves and flavours.
Strong vinegar
Acidity that sours the shrimp and helps preserve it.
Sweet oil
Adds fat and a mellow richness to the pickle when re-boiled for shipping.

The step that matters

Covering the shrimps completely with hot pickle. Any shrimp left exposed above the liquid can spoil, because the acidic pickle only protects what it fully covers. Pouring the pickle hot also helps it penetrate the shrimp more evenly.

Swap the allspice

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (shrimp, vinegar, brandy):

  1. Garlicfits better
  2. Tarragonfits better
  3. Peppermintfits better
  4. Allspicethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against shrimp, vinegar, brandy. 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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