Why it works: Pepper and capsicum match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,571 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Red Cabbage
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cabbage
Remove the large outer leaves from the cabbage and cut it into quarters, removing the stalk.
Shred the cabbage into a colander and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
Let the shredded cabbage sit for 24 hours.
Drain the cabbage and place it in a jar.
Make and steep the pickle
In a separate container, mix the vinegar, black pepper, ginger, salt, horseradish, and capsicums.
Pour the cold pickle over the cabbage in the jar.
Seal the jar.
Let the jar steep for three days by the fire.
After three days, strain the liquid through a cloth.
Pour the strained liquid back over the cabbage.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + capsicumtop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,571 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Cabbage + horseradishtop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together481 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,081 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Ginger + capsicumtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,890 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Cabbage + gingertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together545 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Red cabbage
- Forms the bulk of the pickle and, once salted, softens slightly while keeping its crisp texture.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws water out of the shredded cabbage, firming it and seasoning it before the vinegar is added.
- Vinegar
- Provides the acidity that preserves the cabbage and gives the pickle its sharp flavour.
- Ground black pepper
- Adds pungent heat and aroma to the pickling liquid as it steeps.
- Ginger
- Adds warm, aromatic spice that flavours the pickling liquid.
- Horseradish
- Contributes sharp pungency and aroma that infuse into the vinegar over the steeping period.
The step that matters
Salting and resting the shredded cabbage. Salt draws out water over the 24 hours, so the cabbage drains and takes up the vinegar liquid more evenly. Draining it well first keeps the pickle from being diluted and the cabbage from turning soft.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cabbage, vinegar, pepper, horseradish, capsicum):
- Dillfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Turmericfits better
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cabbage, vinegar, pepper, horseradish, capsicum. 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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