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Mixed Pickles

Mixed pickles are a variety of vegetables pickled together.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Cucumber and cauliflower match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 584 recipes. Both carry 2-hexenal, which smells green, leafy. The science ↓

Mixed Pickles

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Slice the tomatoes, onions, and peppers.

  2. Cut the beans into 1-inch lengths.

  3. Shave the cabbage.

  4. Break the cauliflower into bunches.

Brine and drain

  1. Soak the cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers, beans, cabbage, and cauliflower in a strong brine for 24 hours.

  2. Drain for 3 hours.

Pickle

  1. Sprinkle with mustard seed and black pepper.

  2. Cover with vinegar and boil.

  3. Drain again.

  4. When cold, stir in the ground mustard.

  5. Cover with good vinegar.

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. Cucumber + cauliflowertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together584 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  2. Beans + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,713 recipes

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

  3. Cabbage + cauliflowertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together305 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Mustard + cauliflowertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together687 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  5. Beans + cauliflowertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together290 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Vinegar
Provides sharp acidity that preserves the vegetables and gives the pickle its tang.
Cabbage
Forms the crisp, sturdy bulk of the pickle that holds up to brining and vinegar.
Cauliflower
Adds firm texture and absorbs the brine and vinegar flavors.
Onions
Contribute savory sweetness and aroma that mellow during pickling.
Green tomatoes
Add tartness and firm body to the mix of vegetables.
Black mustard seed
Adds pungent, sharp flavor that spreads through the vinegar.

The step that matters

The 24-hour brine soak. Strong brine draws water out of the vegetables and firms their texture, so they stay crisp rather than soft. Drain well afterward so leftover brine and water do not dilute the vinegar.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cucumber, cabbage, beans, mustard, tomato, pepper, cauliflower):

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

Fit is the average pairing score against cucumber, cabbage, beans, mustard, tomato, pepper, cauliflower. 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.

More mixed pickles recipes

English 3 See all 133 →

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