Name: Vibgihia Mixed Pickles
Ingredients: ½ peck green tomatoes, sliced and chopped; 25 cucumbers, chopped; 15 large onions, chopped fine; 2 large or 3 small heads of cabbage, cut for slaw; Coarse sea salt (to taste); Weak vinegar (enough to cover the vegetables); Strong vinegar (enough to cover the mixed ingredients); 1 pint scraped horseradish; 2 ounces turmeric; ½ ounce powdered cinnamon; ½ pound white mustard seed; ¼ pound brown pepper; 1 pound sugar; 1 ounce celery seed

Why it works: Cucumber and horseradish match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 640 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

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.

Cucumber + horseradishtop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together640 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Cabbage + horseradishtop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together481 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Turmeric + cinnamontop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,197 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Horseradish + turmerictop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together437 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Tomato + cucumbertop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,405 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

Green tomatoes: Provide the bulk of the pickle and absorb the salted vinegar brine.
Cabbage: Adds crisp texture that holds up through soaking and pickling.
Sugar: Balances the sharp vinegar with sweetness.
White mustard seed: Contributes sharp, pungent flavour that mellows during pickling.
Strong vinegar: Acidity preserves the vegetables and gives the pickle its tang.
Coarse sea salt: Draws water out of the vegetables, firming them and reducing moisture.

The step that matters

Draining after the salt stand. Salt draws large amounts of water out of the vegetables. Draining thoroughly and then soaking in weak vinegar removes excess salt, so the pickle is not overly salty and stays crisp rather than soggy once the hot strong vinegar is added.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cucumber, onion, cabbage, vinegar, horseradish, turmeric, cinnamon):

Mustardfits better
Cauliflowerfits better
Radishfits better
Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cucumber, onion, cabbage, vinegar, horseradish, turmeric, cinnamon. 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.

Vibgihia Mixed Pickles