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Sweet Pickles

Sweet pickles made by soaking cucumbers, then boiling with vinegar, spices, and sugar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 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 ↓

Sweet Pickles

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the cucumbers

  1. Soak cucumbers in cold water for one day.

  2. Place cucumbers in brine overnight.

  3. Dry each cucumber.

Cook

  1. Combine vinegar with all ingredients except cucumbers.

  2. Bring the mixture to a boil.

  3. Add cucumbers to the boiling mixture.

  4. Steam the cucumbers for 30 minutes without boiling.

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

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  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. Turmeric + celerytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,356 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Cucumbers
Form the main body of the pickles, becoming firm and crisp after soaking and brining.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness that balances the sharp acidity of the vinegar.
White mustard seed
Contributes sharp, pungent flavor that deepens as the pickles sit.
Celery seed
Adds a warm, savory aroma that rounds out the pickling spices.
Cabbage
Adds bulk and a mild crunch that absorbs the spiced vinegar.

The step that matters

Steaming the cucumbers without boiling. If the mixture boils once the cucumbers are added, the cucumbers can soften and turn mushy. Holding it just below a boil keeps their texture firm while they absorb the flavors.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cucumber, cabbage, pepper, mustard, turmeric, celery, sugar):

  1. Horseradishfits better
  2. Cauliflowerfits better
  3. Lettucefits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cucumber, cabbage, pepper, mustard, turmeric, celery, sugar. 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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