Why it works: Allspice and clove 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 ↓
French Pickle
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Chop the green tomatoes, onions, green peppers, and cabbage together.
Cook
In a large preserving kettle, combine the chopped vegetables with allspice, cloves, salt, and mustard seed.
Cover the mixture with vinegar and bring to a boil.
Boil for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
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.
-
Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Allspice + mustardtop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,928 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
-
Cabbage + mustardtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together17,451 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
-
Pepper + allspicetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,395 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Green tomatoes
- Provide the bulk of the pickle and tart, fresh flavor as they cook down.
- Onions
- Add savory sweetness and body that softens during the long simmer.
- Cabbage
- Adds crisp texture and bulk that softens into the pickle as it cooks.
- White mustard seed
- Contributes sharp, pungent flavor that mellows during boiling.
- Vinegar
- Provides acidity that preserves the vegetables and gives the pickle its tang.
The step that matters
Boil for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Vegetables submerged in vinegar must be fully heated and cooked through to soften and to help the acidic brine preserve them. Occasional stirring keeps pieces from sticking and scorching on the bottom of the kettle, which would give a burnt taste.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, pepper, cabbage, allspice, clove, mustard, vinegar):
- Horseradishfits better
- Broccolifits better
- Radishfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against onion, pepper, cabbage, allspice, clove, mustard, vinegar. 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.
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Cream of Tomato Soup107 recipes
Red Cabbage65 recipes
Tomato Bisque61 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.