Why it works: Lemon and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 20% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,334 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Lemon Pickle
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wipe the lemons clean.
Cut each lemon into eight pieces.
Pack and store
Layer the lemon pieces in a jar, sprinkling salt between layers.
Pour vinegar over the lemons until fully covered.
Seal the jar tightly and store in a cool, dark place for at least 2 weeks.
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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Lemon + vinegartop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,334 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
- Lemons
- Provide the fruit and sour flavour the pickle is built around.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws moisture out of the lemons and helps preserve them.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that keeps the lemons tangy and helps preserve them.
The step that matters
Cover the lemons fully with vinegar. Lemon pieces left above the liquid are exposed to air and can spoil. The acid and salt protect only the parts they cover, so every piece must be submerged before sealing the jar.
“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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