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Pickle Vinegar

A spiced vinegar made by steeping cider vinegar with spices, sugar, and lemon for months.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Turmeric and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,776 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Pickle Vinegar

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a large container.

  2. Mix well and let the mixture sit for several months before using.

  3. Store the pickle vinegar in a cool, dark place, ready for use.

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. Turmeric + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,776 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  2. Allspice + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,620 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  3. Allspice + mustardtop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,928 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

  4. Mustard + turmerictop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,279 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Allspice + turmerictop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together629 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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

What each ingredient does

Cider vinegar
Provides the acidic base that preserves the liquid and sharpens the pickling flavor.
Sugar
Balances the sharpness of the vinegar and adds sweetness to the finished liquid.
Mustard seed
Contributes pungent, sharp flavor that infuses into the vinegar over time.
Celery seed
Adds a savory, aromatic celery flavor to the vinegar.
Horseradish
Adds sharp, pungent heat that mellows and infuses during the long rest.

The step that matters

Letting the mixture sit for several months. Spices and aromatics need extended time in acidic vinegar to release their flavor and blend. Using the mixture early gives a harsh, unbalanced taste, so the full rest is what develops the flavor.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cider, vinegar, allspice, mustard, mace, turmeric, ginger):

  1. Clovefits better
  2. Cinnamonfits better
  3. Cardamomfits better
  4. White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cider, vinegar, allspice, mustard, mace, turmeric, ginger. 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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