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Vinegar for Pickles

A vinegar-based brine for pickles containing sugar, spices, and seasonings.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Horseradish and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,832 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Vinegar for Pickles

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.

Make the brine

  1. Combine all ingredients in a large pot and stir well to dissolve the sugar.

  2. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Jar and store

  1. Let it cool, then transfer to sterilized jars.

  2. Seal and store in a cool, dark place for at least 2 weeks before using.

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. Horseradish + mustardtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,832 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  2. Mustard + celerytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,169 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  3. Nutmeg + macetop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,557 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  4. Onion + mustardtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,259 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Horseradish + celerytop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together835 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

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

What each ingredient does

Vinegar
Provides the acidity that preserves the brine and sharpens the pickling flavor.
Sugar
Balances the sharpness of the vinegar and adds sweetness to the brine.
Mustard seed
Contributes a pungent, slightly bitter flavor that deepens as the brine matures.
Onions
Add savory sweetness and aromatic flavor that infuses into the brine while it simmers.

The step that matters

Simmer, then cool fully before jarring. Simmering brings the spices and aromatics into the vinegar and sugar so flavors blend evenly. Jarring while the brine is still hot can weaken the jar seals and cause breakage, and the flavors continue to develop during the resting period.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, sugar, nutmeg, onion, horseradish, mustard, celery):

  1. Capersfits better
  2. Tarragonfits better
  3. Allspicefits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, sugar, nutmeg, onion, horseradish, mustard, celery. 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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