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Tomato Pickle

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

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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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 ↓

Tomato Pickle

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a large pot.

  2. Boil until tender.

  3. Seal in jars.

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.

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. Clove + turmerictop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,876 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Turmeric + celerytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,356 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Celery + tomatotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,377 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

Green tomatoes
Form the bulk of the pickle and soften into a tender texture as they cook.
Vinegar
Provides the sharp acidity that gives the pickle its tang and helps preserve it.
Cabbage
Adds bulk and some texture to the pickle as it cooks down.
Onions
Contribute savory sweetness and aroma as they cook in the vinegar.
Sugar
Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
White mustard seed
Adds pungent flavor and aroma to the pickling liquid.

The step that matters

Boil until tender. Cooking too briefly leaves the tomatoes and cabbage firm and raw-tasting, while cooking too long turns them mushy. Checking for tenderness during the boil helps the vegetables keep their shape and texture.

Swap the tomato

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

  1. Horseradishfits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Lettucefits better
  4. Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against clove, pepper, turmeric, celery, 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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