Why it works: Garlic and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,115 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Eschalot, or Garlic Vinegar
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Peel and bruise the eschalots or garlic.
Pour the vinegar over the eschalots or garlic in a jar or bottle.
Seal the jar or bottle tightly.
Steep and strain
Let it sit for 2 to 3 weeks.
Strain the vinegar 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.
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Garlic + vinegartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,115 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eschalots or garlic
- Release their aromatic compounds into the vinegar, flavouring it with a sharp allium taste.
- Vinegar
- Acts as the solvent that extracts flavour from the bruised alliums over time.
The step that matters
Bruising the eschalots or garlic. Bruising breaks cell walls so enzymes and flavour compounds are released into the vinegar. Whole, unbroken pieces steep much more slowly and give a weaker flavour.
“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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