Why it works: Mace and clove are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,400 recipes. Both carry methyleugenol, which smells clove, spice. The science ↓
To Pickle Onions
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the onions
Peel the small onions and boil them in milk and water for 10 minutes.
Drain the onions and place them in a jar or crock.
Make the brine and pickle
In a separate pot, combine the vinegar, mace, cloves, salt, and alum.
Bring the mixture to a boil and pour it hot over the onions.
Seal the jars or crocks airtight.
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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Mace + clovetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,400 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
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Onion + clovetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16,901 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
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Onion + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,226 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Vinegar + clovetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,386 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Onion + macetop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,078 recipes
Shared aroma: eugenol (clove, spicy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Small onions
- The main vegetable, which becomes tender and mild as it pickles.
- Vinegar
- Provides the acidity that preserves the onions and gives them their sharp flavor.
- Alum
- Helps the onions stay firm and crisp during pickling.
- Milk
- Mellows the onions' sharpness during the initial boil.
The step that matters
Pouring the hot brine over the onions. The brine must be at a full boil when poured so it penetrates and begins preserving the onions; a cool brine would leave them less protected and more prone to spoilage.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, vinegar, mace, clove):
- Capsicumfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, vinegar, mace, clove. 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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