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Artichoke Pickles

Pickled artichokes preserved in a seasoned vinegar brine.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Mustard and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,169 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Artichoke Pickles

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the artichokes

  1. Wash and scrape the artichokes carefully.

  2. Soak the artichokes in strong brine for three days.

Make the pickling liquor

  1. Combine equal parts vinegar and water in a pot.

  2. Add the piece of alum to the vinegar and water mixture.

  3. For each gallon of vinegar, add the mustard, allspice, celery seed, turmeric, white mustard seed, sugar, and whole peppers.

  4. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Pickle

  1. Pour the hot mixture over the artichokes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Mustard + celerytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,169 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  2. Artichoke + mustardtop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together116 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  3. Mustard + allspicetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,928 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

  4. Mustard + turmerictop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,279 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Allspice + turmerictop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together629 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Artichokes
The main vegetable, which is softened and flavoured by the pickling liquor.
Vinegar
Provides the acidity that preserves and sharpens the pickle.
Sugar
Balances the sharpness of the vinegar with sweetness.
White mustard seed
Adds pungent, sharp flavour to the pickling liquor.
Alum
Helps the artichokes stay firm during pickling.

The step that matters

Pouring the hot mixture over the artichokes. The liquor must be fully boiled before it goes on the artichokes so the spices release their flavour and the hot liquid helps the vegetables take up the brine. Pouring it cool would leave the pickle weaker and less evenly flavoured.

Swap the celery

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (artichoke, vinegar, mustard, allspice, turmeric, sugar, pepper):

  1. Tarragonfits better
  2. Capersfits better
  3. Cinnamonfits better
  4. Celerythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against artichoke, vinegar, mustard, allspice, turmeric, sugar, pepper. 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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