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Cucumbers, Stuffed

Cucumbers stuffed with a seasoned meat mixture, served hot with brown sauce.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Cucumbers, Stuffed

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Prepare and parboil the cucumbers as for 'Cucumber with Eggs.'

  2. In a saucepan, mix the meat, breadcrumbs, parsley, and herbs, then season the mixture with salt and pepper.

  3. Add the eggs and a little milk or stock if the mixture seems dry.

  4. Stir the mixture over heat until thoroughly hot.

Stuff and serve

  1. Once the cucumbers are tender, drain them well.

  2. Place each cucumber piece on a slice of bread and fill with the meat mixture, piling it high.

  3. Arrange the stuffed cucumbers in two close rows.

  4. Pour the brown sauce over the arrangement.

  5. Garnish with finely chopped parsley or egg white if desired, sprinkle with garnish and serve hot.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Cucumber + parsleytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,564 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  3. Cucumber + peppertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,991 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  5. Meat + breadtop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,924 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cucumbers
Hold the filling as a edible cup and give a fresh, mild vegetable base.
Eggs
Bind the meat and breadcrumb mixture so it holds its shape when heated.
Breadcrumbs
Absorb moisture and help the filling hold together without becoming wet.
Cold meat
Forms the savoury body of the filling, with flavour carried by the sauce and herbs.
Brown sauce
Adds moisture and rich savoury flavour over the finished dish.

The step that matters

Stir the filling until thoroughly hot. The filling is already-cooked meat held together by egg. Heating it fully sets the egg lightly and keeps the mixture safe and firm enough to pile on the cucumber without running.

Swap the cucumber

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, parsley, egg, bread, sauce, pepper):

  1. Shallotfits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Asparagusfits better
  4. Cucumberthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against meat, parsley, egg, bread, sauce, 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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