Why it works: Nutmeg and mace are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,557 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓
Asparagus Pickled
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the asparagus
Cut and wash the green heads of the asparagus.
Soak them in cold water for 2-3 hours.
Scald the asparagus carefully in salted water, then lay them on a cloth to cool.
Make and pour the pickle
Prepare a pickle with white wine vinegar and coarse sea salt, boiling it.
For 1 gallon of pickle, add 2 nutmegs, ¼ ounce of mace, and ¼ ounce of whole white pepper.
Pour the hot pickle over the asparagus.
Rest and reboil
Cover the jar with a thick cloth and let it stand for a week.
Boil the pickle again.
After another week, boil it a third time.
When cool, cover the jar tightly.
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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Nutmeg + macetop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,557 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Mace + white peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,695 recipes
Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
-
Asparagus + nutmegtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together252 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
White wine + vinegartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,776 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Nutmeg + white peppertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,375 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Largest green asparagus heads
- Form the main body of the pickle, staying firm and crisp when properly scalded.
- White wine vinegar
- Provides the acidity that preserves the asparagus and gives the pickle its sharp flavour.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws out moisture and seasons the pickle, helping to preserve the asparagus.
- Nutmegs
- Adds warm, aromatic spice flavour to the pickle.
- Mace
- Adds a warm, delicate aroma that complements the nutmeg in the pickle.
- Whole white pepper
- Adds gentle heat and pungency to the pickle's spiced flavour.
The step that matters
Scalding the asparagus carefully. Overcooking softens the spears and turns them limp, while the pickle cannot restore lost firmness. Brief, careful scalding keeps the asparagus crisp through the long pickling period.
Swap the asparagus
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (white wine, vinegar, nutmeg, mace, white pepper):
- Shallotfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Horseradishfits better
- Asparagusthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against white wine, vinegar, nutmeg, mace, white pepper. 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.
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