Why it works: Walnut and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 22% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,769 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓
Pickles
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Scald the walnuts slightly to help remove the first skin.
Pickle
Place the walnuts in a jar and cover them with distilled vinegar.
Add coarse sea salt and spices to taste.
Seal the jar tightly and store it in a dry place.
Shake the jar well at least three times a day for three days.
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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Walnut + vinegartop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,769 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Walnuts
- Their unripe, tender flesh softens and takes on the pickling flavour as they steep in the vinegar.
- Distilled vinegar
- Acidity preserves the walnuts and sharpens the flavour while the pickle develops.
- Coarse sea salt
- Salt draws out moisture and seasons the walnuts as they cure.
The step that matters
Scald the walnuts slightly. Scalding loosens the first skin so it can be removed. Too little heat leaves the skin stuck, and too much begins to cook the flesh.
“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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