Why it works: Mustard and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,169 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Chow-chow
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Chop the green tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, green peppers, and cabbage.
Combine all the chopped vegetables in a large pot.
Season and cook
Season with mustard, celery seed, and coarse sea salt to taste.
Add enough cider vinegar to cover the vegetables.
Boil for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Store
Once done, cover tightly and store.
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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Mustard + celerytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,169 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Cucumber + mustardtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,281 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Cabbage + mustardtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + cucumbertop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,405 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,377 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
- Green tomatoes
- Provide the bulk of the relish and release moisture and tartness as they cook.
- Cabbage
- Adds body and a firm, crisp texture that holds up through long boiling.
- Cider vinegar
- Acidity that preserves the vegetables and gives the relish its tangy flavor.
- White onions
- Contribute sharp aromatic flavor that mellows during long cooking.
The step that matters
Boil for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Vegetables submerged in vinegar can scorch on the bottom of the pot if not stirred, and the long boil is what softens them and drives off excess liquid. Stirring keeps heat even and the mixture from sticking.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, cucumber, pepper, cabbage, mustard, celery, cider):
- Lettucefits better
- Horseradishfits better
- Broccolifits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, cucumber, pepper, cabbage, mustard, celery, cider. 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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