Why it works: Sugar and pork are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 37% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,579 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
To Pickle Pork
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cure
Mix saltpetre, coarse sugar, saltpeter, and a little common salt.
Sprinkle the pork with common salt and drain for 24 hours.
Rub the pork with the mixed ingredients.
Pack and store
Pack the pork tightly in a small deep tub, filling spaces with common salt.
Place large pebbles on the pork to keep it submerged in the pickle.
Store away from air for up to two years.
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.
-
Sugar + porktop 37% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,579 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Pork
- The main meat, which the salt and cure penetrate and preserve.
- Common salt
- Draws out moisture and seasons the meat while helping preserve it.
- Coarse sugar
- Balances the salt and adds mild sweetness to the cured meat.
- Saltpetre
- Helps the meat keep its pink colour and adds to the preserving effect.
The step that matters
Packing the pork in salt and keeping it submerged. Salt must reach every surface and the meat must stay under the pickle, since exposed areas can spoil. Packing tightly and weighting with pebbles keeps the pork covered and protected from air.
“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.
More pickled pork recipes
You might also like
Pork Cake107 recipes
Roast Pork82 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 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.