Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Cabbage Pickle
Ingredients
Directions
Brine and vinegar
Fill a 2-gallon jar with quartered cabbage.
Pour hot brine over the cabbage and let it sit for 4 days.
Remove cabbage from brine and pour weak vinegar over it, letting it sit for several days.
Spice and seal
Prepare strong vinegar and add cinnamon bark, cloves, and turmeric.
Pour the mixture over the cabbage and tie the jar closely.
Add brown sugar and garlic or onions.
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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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Cinnamon + turmerictop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,197 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Clove + turmerictop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,876 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Cabbage + turmerictop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together618 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Cinnamon + sugartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Cinnamon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cabbage
- Forms the main body of the pickle, softening and absorbing the brine and vinegar flavours.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the pickle its sharp, sour character and helps preserve it.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
- Turmeric
- Adds colour and an earthy, aromatic flavour to the pickle.
- Cinnamon bark
- Adds warm aroma and sweet spice flavour to the vinegar mixture.
The step that matters
Removing the cabbage from the brine before adding weak vinegar. Moving the cabbage between liquids in the right order keeps the brine's salt and acid balance under control, so the cabbage firms and flavours evenly rather than turning soft or overly salty.
Swap the cabbage
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, cinnamon, clove, turmeric, sugar):
- Mustardfits better
- Arrowrootfits better
- Sweet potatofits better
- Cabbagethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, cinnamon, clove, turmeric, sugar. 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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