Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Mustard Cucumbers
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cucumbers
Select yellow, ripe cucumbers and peel them.
Cut cucumbers crosswise into 4 to 6 strips and remove all seeds.
Layer the strips in a bowl and salt them well. Let them stand overnight for 8 to 10 hours.
Dry each strip with a clean towel.
Pack and cover
Place the dried strips in an earthenware pot in layers.
Sprinkle whole mustard seeds and bay leaves over each layer.
Boil enough fine grape vinegar to cover the cucumbers.
For each pint of vinegar, add 1 tablespoon of sugar, 4 cinnamon sticks, and 8 cloves.
Remove the cinnamon and cloves from the vinegar before pouring it over the cucumbers.
Cover the cucumbers with a porcelain plate and a clean cloth or heavy paper.
Store in glass jars. Optionally, add thin sliced onions over each layer for extra flavor.
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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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Cucumber + mustardtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,281 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Mustard + oniontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,259 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Mustard + cinnamontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,581 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cucumbers
- Form the crisp, salted base that the pickling liquid is absorbed into.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws water out of the cucumbers so they firm up and take on flavor.
- Fine grape vinegar
- Provides the acidity that preserves the cucumbers and gives the pickle its sharp taste.
- Sugar
- Balances the sharpness of the vinegar with a touch of sweetness.
- Whole mustard seeds
- Add pungent, nutty flavor that infuses the layers as they sit.
The step that matters
Drying the salted strips before packing. Salt draws water out of the cucumbers by osmosis. Any moisture left on the strips dilutes the vinegar brine and weakens its preserving and flavor effect, so each strip should be dried thoroughly before layering.
Swap the grape
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cucumber, mustard, vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, clove, onion):
- Avocadofits better
- Limefits better
- Cherryfits better
- Grapethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cucumber, mustard, vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, clove, onion. 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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