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Spiced Vinegar

A cider vinegar infused with brown sugar and spices.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Allspice and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,874 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Spiced Vinegar

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine the cider vinegar and brown sugar in a large jar.

  2. Place the spices in small muslin bags and add them to the jar.

  3. Seal the jar and let it sit for at least a week to infuse.

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. Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,874 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Celery + mustardtop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,169 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  3. Allspice + mustardtop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,928 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

  4. Allspice + celerytop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,422 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Celery + clovetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,668 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).

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

What each ingredient does

Cider vinegar
Provides the acidic base that extracts and carries the spice flavours.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and a molasses note that balances the sharp vinegar.
Allspice
Contributes warm, aromatic flavour to the infused vinegar.
Celery seed
Adds a savoury, herbal aroma that stands out in the blend.
Cloves
Adds intense warm aroma; a small amount carries strongly through the vinegar.

The step that matters

Seal the jar and let it sit for at least a week to infuse. Spice flavour is extracted slowly by the acidic vinegar over time. Opening or using the vinegar too early gives a weak, unbalanced flavour, so the full resting period matters.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cider, vinegar, sugar, allspice, celery, clove, mustard):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Tarragonfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cider, vinegar, sugar, allspice, celery, clove, mustard. 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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