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Spanish Pickle

A pickled mixture of cucumbers, cabbage, onions, and spices preserved in vinegar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Spanish Pickle

Why it works: Celery and mustard 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 ↓

Spanish Pickle

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the vegetables

  1. Salt the onions and let them sit for one hour.

  2. Squeeze the cucumbers, cabbage, and onions separately to remove excess moisture.

Make the pickle

  1. In a large pot, combine the squeezed vegetables with celery seed, turmeric, white mustard seed, brown sugar, and ground mustard.

  2. Add enough vinegar to cover the mixture thoroughly.

  3. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.

  4. Add cloves, spice, and cinnamon to taste.

Jar and seal

  1. Pack the hot mixture into jars and seal.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Celery + mustardtop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,169 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  2. Turmeric + mustardtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,279 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  3. Cucumber + mustardtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,281 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Cabbage + mustardtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,645 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Celery + turmerictop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,356 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cucumbers
Provide the main bulk and crisp-tender texture of the pickle.
Cabbage
Adds bulk and a firm, crunchy texture that holds up in the brine.
Onions
Add savory flavor and bulk; salting draws out water so they stay crisp.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
Vinegar
Provides the acidity that preserves and sharpens the pickle.
White mustard seed
Contributes a sharp, pungent flavor to the pickling liquid.

The step that matters

Squeezing the vegetables. Removing excess moisture before combining keeps the pickle from becoming watery and helps the vegetables stay firm, so the vinegar and sugar mixture is not diluted.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cucumber, cabbage, celery, turmeric, mustard, sugar, vinegar):

  1. Horseradishfits better
  2. Cauliflowerfits better
  3. Lettucefits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cucumber, cabbage, celery, turmeric, mustard, sugar, vinegar. 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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