Why it works: Sugar and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 20,806 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Damson Pickle
Ingredients
Directions
Place the damsons in a large bowl.
Add sugar and spices to taste.
Pour boiling vinegar over the mixture.
Repeat this process for nine consecutive mornings.
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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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Damsons
- Provide the tart fruit flavour and the body of the pickle.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vinegar and fruit.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the pickle its sharp flavour and helps preserve the fruit.
The step that matters
Repeating the vinegar pour each morning. Pouring the boiling vinegar over the fruit and sugar on each of the nine mornings lets the flavours penetrate the damsons gradually. Skipping a morning means the fruit gets less contact with the vinegar and sugar, so the pickle may taste less developed.
“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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