Why it works: Walnut and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 22% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,769 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓
To Pickle Green Walnuts
Ingredients
Directions
Gather the walnuts or butternuts when they are very small.
Prick them several times and pack them in alternate layers of salt and nuts.
When they have made a brine, drain them and repack with fresh salt.
Let them remain for eight days.
Wash them free from salt and wipe them dry.
Lay them out to dry for three days.
Steep spices in strong vinegar, heat it to boiling, and pour it over the nuts.
Let them stand for one week.
Pack the nuts in jars with spices.
Heat good vinegar near boiling and fill the jars.
Let the jars cool completely and then seal tightly.
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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Walnut + vinegartop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,769 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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