Why it works: Clove and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,874 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Pickled Eggs
Ingredients
Directions
Place the eggs in a pot and cover them with cold water.
Bring the water to a boil and boil the eggs for 10 minutes.
Remove the eggs and place them in cold water to cool.
Carefully remove the shells from the eggs and place them in a jar.
In a saucepan, combine strong vinegar, cloves, allspice, black pepper, red pepper, and a little coarse sea salt.
Bring the mixture to a boil and pour it over the eggs in the jar.
Seal the jar and let it cool. Refrigerate.
The pickled eggs will be ready in three days, but taste best after a week.
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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Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together17,451 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Allspice + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,395 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Vinegar + allspicetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,548 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).
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Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, vinegar, allspice, pepper):
- Tarragonfits about as well
- Clovethe original
- Parsleyfits about as well
- Dillfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, vinegar, allspice, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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