Why it works: Mustard and celery 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 ↓
Dixie Relish
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 180°F (82°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the peppers
Soak the sweet red and green peppers in a brine made of 1 gallon water and 1 cup salt for 24 hours.
Freshen the peppers in cold water for 2 hours.
Drain the peppers.
Remove the white sections and seeds from the peppers.
Chop and macerate
Chop all vegetables separately.
Measure the chopped vegetables.
Mix the vegetables together.
Add the cider vinegar, sugar, and mustard seed to the mixture.
Let the mixture stand overnight in a crock or enameled dish.
Pack and process
Drain off the vinegar to facilitate packing.
Pack the relish into jars, pressing it down thoroughly.
Add the drained-off vinegar.
Ensure all air is forced out and replaced by vinegar.
Process the jars for 15 minutes at 180°F (82°C).
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.
-
Mustard + celerytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,169 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Cabbage + mustardtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together16,012 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,081 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Mustard + oniontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,259 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
- Sweet red and green peppers
- Provide bulk, crisp texture and sweet, fresh flavor to the relish.
- Cabbage
- Adds crunch and bulk, holding its texture through the vinegar soak.
- White onion
- Adds sharp, pungent flavor that mellows during the overnight stand.
- Cider vinegar
- Acidity that preserves the relish and gives it its tangy flavor.
- Sugar
- Balances the sharpness of the vinegar with sweetness.
- Mustard seed
- Contributes a sharp, pungent aroma and a slight bite.
The step that matters
Pack the relish and cover it with vinegar. Pressing the relish down and replacing all air with vinegar keeps the vegetables submerged in acid. Trapped air can allow spoilage during processing and storage, so thorough packing matters for a safe, stable product.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cabbage, mustard, celery, pepper, sugar, cider, vinegar):
- Horseradishfits better
- Broccolifits better
- Lettucefits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cabbage, mustard, celery, pepper, sugar, cider, 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.
You might also like
Cream of Celery Soup113 recipes
Red Cabbage65 recipes
Stewed Cabbage58 recipes
Baked Cabbage51 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.