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 ↓
Tomatoes, Pickled
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Prepare the spiced vinegar as directed.
To each quart of vinegar, add 2 teaspoons of sugar.
Pack and seal
Pack the tomatoes loosely in a large jar.
Cover them with boiling vinegar.
Put on a close-fitting lid or plate to keep in the steam.
Tie down to completely exclude the air.
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).
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Tomato + vinegartop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,063 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Tomato + sugartop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,667 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
- Small firm tomatoes
- Provide the main body of the pickle, staying firm while they absorb the vinegar.
- Spiced vinegar
- Acidity that preserves the tomatoes and carries the spice flavour into them.
- Moist sugar
- Balances the sharpness of the vinegar with a mild sweetness.
The step that matters
Tie down to completely exclude the air. Air left in the jar lets mould and spoilage organisms grow on the surface, so the seal must be airtight and the tomatoes fully covered by vinegar.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, sugar):
- Mustardfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Cucumberfits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, sugar. 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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