Why it works: Vinegar and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 20,806 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Mary's Pickled Blackberries
Ingredients
Directions
Combine blackberries, vinegar, and sugar in a kettle.
Boil for 10 to 15 minutes.
Let the mixture stand for a few weeks before serving.
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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Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Blackberries
- Provide the fruit, which softens and becomes tender during boiling and pickling.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that preserves the fruit and gives the pickle its sharp, tangy flavor.
- Sugar
- Balances the sharpness of the vinegar and adds sweetness to the pickled fruit.
The step that matters
Boil for 10 to 15 minutes. Boiling brings the vinegar and sugar together with the fruit so the sugar dissolves and the acid penetrates the berries. Too short a boil leaves the mixture less evenly pickled.
“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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