Why it works: Ginger and turmeric match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,776 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Mustard Pickles
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and boil
Combine the vinegar, ginger, allspice, chillies, turmeric, mustard, garlic, and salt in a large pot.
Mix the mustard and turmeric with some vinegar before boiling.
Boil the mixture for 15 minutes, adding the onions and garlic for the last 3 minutes.
Cool and finish
Transfer the mixture to a crock and let it cool.
When cold, add the vegetables.
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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Ginger + turmerictop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,776 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together29,058 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
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Ginger + allspicetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,620 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Allspice + mustardtop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,928 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
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Turmeric + mustardtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,279 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- White wine vinegar
- Provides the sharp acidity that gives the pickle its tang and helps preserve it.
- Keen's mustard
- Supplies the main pungent mustard flavour and body to the pickling liquid.
- Turmeric
- Gives the pickle its yellow colour and a mild, earthy flavour.
- Onions
- Add sweetness and a softer, tender texture once cooked in the hot liquid.
- Ginger
- Adds a warm, aromatic bite that balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Garlic
- Contributes a savoury aroma that deepens the flavour of the pickle.
The step that matters
Mix the mustard and turmeric with some vinegar before boiling. Powdered mustard and turmeric clump and can scorch on the bottom of a pot when dropped in dry. Mixing them into a little vinegar first disperses them evenly so the liquid stays smooth and the flavour spreads through the batch.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (white wine, vinegar, ginger, allspice, turmeric, mustard, garlic):
- Shallotfits better
- Horseradishfits better
- Broccolifits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against white wine, vinegar, ginger, allspice, turmeric, mustard, garlic. 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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