Why it works: Ginger and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Pickled Cabbage
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cabbage
Remove all decayed and outer leaves from the cabbages.
Cut the cabbages into quarters, remove the stalks, and shred them into slices about ¼ inch thick.
Layer the shredded cabbage in a deep dish, covering each layer with salt.
Place another dish on top with a weight and let it stand for 2 days.
Pour off the liquid, then shake the cabbage in a cloth to dry it.
Pickle and store
Transfer the cabbage to a stone jar.
Boil 1 pint of vinegar with the spices, allow it to cool covered, then add another pint of vinegar.
Pour the vinegar mixture over the cabbage, adding more vinegar if needed to cover it.
Tie the jar tightly and keep it unopened for at least 6 weeks.
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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Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,038 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together17,451 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,081 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Cabbage + gingertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together545 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + gingertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,800 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
- Red cabbages
- Form the bulk of the pickle; salting draws out water so the shreds become crisp and pickled.
- Salt
- Draws water out of the cabbage, firming the shreds and helping preserve them.
- Vinegar
- Provides the acidity that preserves and sharpens the cabbage during the long rest.
- Cloves
- Adds warm, aromatic spice flavour to the pickling liquid.
- Ginger
- Adds a pungent, aromatic warmth to the pickling liquid.
- Long pepper
- Adds a hot, aromatic peppery flavour to the pickling liquid.
The step that matters
Drying the salted cabbage before adding the vinegar. Pouring off the liquid and drying the shreds keeps excess water from diluting the vinegar, so the pickle stays firm and the vinegar can penetrate and preserve it properly.
Swap the cabbage
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, vinegar, ginger, clove):
- Capsicumfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Cabbagethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, vinegar, ginger, clove. 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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