Why it works: Onion and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,226 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Raw Onions
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Slice onions very thin.
Pour boiling water over the sliced onions.
Let stand for five minutes or more.
Drain the onions into cold water.
Serve
Serve with a little vinegar and salt.
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.
-
Onion + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,226 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Onions
- Provide the main body and sharp flavor that the soaking mellows.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the onion flavor.
The step that matters
Draining the onions into cold water. Sliced onions left in hot water keep cooking and turn soft and limp. Moving them into cold water stops that and keeps them crisp.
“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
Onion Pudding9 recipes
Eggplant Cakes34 recipes
Escalloped Tomatoes (Scalloped Tomatoes)25 recipes
Parsnip Croquettes12 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.