Why it works: Dill and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,630 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Dill Pickles
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the jar
Fill a quart jar with finger-sized pickles.
Add fresh dill between the pickles.
Once the jar is full, add 1 tablespoon of coarse sea salt.
Pour in cold water to fill the jar.
Place dill on top and seal the jar tightly.
Ferment
Put the jars in the sun each day until the water is cloudy.
When the water looks clear again, the pickles are ready for use.
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.
-
Dill + peppertop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,630 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Pickles
- Finger-sized cucumbers that are the main food being fermented and flavoured in the brine.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws water out of the cucumbers and creates the brine that keeps spoilage microbes in check.
- Fresh dill
- Adds its aromatic, herbal flavour to the brine and pickles.
The step that matters
Keeping the jar sealed and the salt measured. A tight seal keeps air out so the brine ferments safely rather than spoiling. Salt concentration controls which microbes thrive, so the measured amount matters for a safe, crisp result.
“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.
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.