Why it works: Clove and cinnamon 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 ↓
French Pickles
Ingredients
Directions
Salt the vegetables
Sprinkle salt over sliced tomatoes and onions; let them stand overnight.
Cook and pickle
In the morning, drain the vegetables and boil them for 15 minutes in 2 parts water and 1 part vinegar.
Drain again, then combine vinegar, sugar, cloves, cinnamon, and allspice in a pot.
Boil the mixture for 15 minutes and pour it over the pickles.
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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Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,536 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar and cinnamon 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
- Green tomatoes
- Form the bulk of the pickle and soften as they cook in the spiced vinegar.
- Onions
- Add savory sweetness and body that softens during salting and boiling.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws water out of the vegetables so they stay firmer in the pickle.
- Vinegar
- Provides the acidity that preserves and sharpens the pickle.
- Sugar
- Balances the vinegar's sharpness with sweetness.
The step that matters
Salting overnight. Salt draws moisture out of the tomatoes and onions through osmosis. Draining well before boiling removes that excess liquid and salt, which keeps the pickle from tasting harsh or watery.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, vinegar, sugar, clove, cinnamon, allspice):
- Capsicumfits better
- Mustardfits better
- Cucumberfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, vinegar, sugar, clove, cinnamon, allspice. 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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