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To Pickle Cucumbers

A method for preserving cucumbers in a vinegar solution with salt and optional spices.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and allspice 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 ↓

To Pickle Cucumbers

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the cucumbers

  1. Gather small green cucumbers.

  2. Let the cucumbers sit in the shade until the next day.

  3. Rinse the cucumbers.

  4. Gently dry the cucumbers with a cloth to remove any black specks.

Make the brine and pickle

  1. In a large bowl, mix 1 gallon of cold vinegar with 1 cup of coarse sea salt and 1 tablespoon of alum.

  2. Add the cucumbers to the vinegar mixture.

  3. Pick the cucumbers every other day.

  4. Strain the vinegar.

  5. Scald the vinegar.

  6. Skim the vinegar until clear.

  7. Put the cucumbers back in the scalded vinegar.

  8. Let the cucumbers scald (do not boil) for 30 minutes.

  9. Transfer the hot cucumbers to a storage vessel.

Keep the brine fresh

  1. Tie spices in a cloth and add them to the vinegar while scalding.

  2. If the vinegar weakens, discard it.

  3. Replace it with fresh vinegar and spices.

  4. Scald the vinegar whenever scum rises.

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. Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,874 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  3. Pepper + allspicetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,395 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Clove + macetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together8,400 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

  5. Allspice + macetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

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

What each ingredient does

Vinegar
Its acidity preserves the cucumbers and gives the pickle its sharp, sour taste.
Coarse sea salt
Draws water out of the cucumbers, helping them stay firm and crisp.
Alum
Firms the cucumber tissue, helping the pickles keep their crunch.
Spices
Add aroma and flavor to the vinegar as it scalds.

The step that matters

Scald without boiling. Holding the vinegar just below a boil for the full 30 minutes heats the cucumbers through without boiling them. Boiling softens the cucumber flesh, so the pickles lose the firm crunch the alum and salt are meant to protect.

“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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