Why it works: Pepper and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,814 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
To Pickle Green Peppers
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the peppers
Gather young bell peppers and slit one side to remove the core without damaging the shell.
Soak and ferment
Place the peppers in boiling water with coarse sea salt, changing the water daily for one week.
Keep the peppers covered in a warm place and stir them several times a day.
When they turn a fine green, transfer them to a jar and pour cold vinegar over them.
Add a small piece of alum to the jar.
You may stuff the peppers as you do mangoes.
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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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Bell peppers
- Form the main body of the pickle, becoming tender and crisp-textured as they cure.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws water out of the peppers and helps preserve them during the brine soak.
- Cold vinegar
- Adds acidity that preserves the peppers and gives the pickle its sharp flavour.
- Alum
- Firms the pepper flesh so it stays crisp in the jar.
The step that matters
Changing the water daily. Fresh water each day carries away salt-drawn liquid and softening compounds, keeping the peppers from spoiling or turning mushy during the week-long soak.
“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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