Name: Bordeaux Pickle
Ingredients: 2 gallons green tomatoes, chopped fine; 1 gallon cabbage, chopped fine; 2 ounces whole black pepper; 2 ounces whole cloves; 2 ounces whole allspice; 2 ounces celery seed; 1 ounce mustard seed; 2 ounces turmeric; ¾ cup coarse sea salt (formerly 'bay salt'); 1 cup sugar; 6 large onions, chopped; 2 gallons vinegar

Why it works: Clove and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,874 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

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.

Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together7,874 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Celery + mustardtop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,169 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Allspice + mustardtop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,928 recipes

Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
Mustard + turmerictop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,279 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Allspice + turmerictop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together629 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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 pickle and its tart, fresh body.
Cabbage: Adds crunch and bulk that holds texture through cooking.
Vinegar: Supplies the acidity that preserves the pickle and sharpens its flavour.
Sugar: Balances the sharp acidity with a touch of sweetness.
Onions: Add savoury depth and body to the mixture.
Turmeric: Gives the pickle its yellow colour and an earthy aroma.

The step that matters

Seal the mixture while hot. Filling the jars while the pickle is hot drives out air and helps create a vacuum seal, which keeps the pickle stable and limits spoilage.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cabbage, pepper, clove, allspice, celery, mustard, turmeric):

Horseradishfits better
Turnipfits better
Cauliflowerfits better
Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cabbage, pepper, clove, allspice, celery, mustard, turmeric. 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.

Bordeaux Pickle