Why it works: Cabbage and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,645 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Pickled Peppers
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the peppers
Cut a slit in the side of the peppers to remove the seeds, leaving them whole.
Cover the peppers with a strong brine and let them sit for 24 hours.
Remove the peppers from the brine.
Soak the peppers in water for a day and night.
Pour off the water.
Scald some vinegar, adding a small piece of alum.
Pour the vinegar over the peppers.
Let the peppers stand for three days.
Stuff and pickle
Prepare a stuffing with two heads of finely chopped white cabbage, seasoned with a little salt and a cup of white mustard seed.
Stuff the peppers tightly with the mixture.
Stitch the peppers up.
Place the stuffed peppers in a stone jar.
Pour hot spiced vinegar over the peppers.
Weigh the peppers down.
Keep the jar tightly covered.
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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Cabbage + mustardtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + cabbagetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,081 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,430 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Vinegar + cabbagetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,924 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
- Peppers
- Their flesh becomes tender and pliable as they soak, so they can be stuffed and hold the filling.
- White cabbage
- Finely chopped, it forms the crisp, savoury filling that is packed inside the peppers.
- Vinegar
- Its acidity preserves the peppers and gives the finished pickle its sharp, tangy flavour.
- White mustard seed
- Adds a pungent, slightly bitter flavour to the cabbage filling as the pickle matures.
The step that matters
Soaking in water after the brine. Soaking draws out salt and the peppers must be fully rinsed and drained of brine, since leftover salt and softened tissue can spoil or make the pickle unpleasantly salty. Pouring off the water and keeping the peppers covered in vinegar keeps them safe to store.
Swap the cabbage
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, vinegar, mustard):
- Horseradishfits better
- Radishfits about as well
- Lettucefits about as well
- Cabbagethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, vinegar, 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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