Name: Cucumber Pickles
Ingredients: 500 small cucumbers; Coarse sea salt; Boiling water; 1 gallon strong vinegar; 1/4 pound unground cinnamon; 1/4 pound allspice; 1/4 pound black pepper; 1/4 pound white mustard seeds; 1/8 pound cloves; 1 butternut-sized piece of alum; 1 pound brown sugar; 1 pint nasturtiums; 6 large green peppers; A few pieces of horseradish

Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

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.

Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,189 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together7,874 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,536 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Allspice + mustardtop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,928 recipes

Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
Cucumber + mustardtop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,281 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

What each ingredient does

Cucumbers: Form the main body of the pickles and absorb the brine and spiced vinegar as they cure.
Coarse sea salt: Draws water out of the cucumbers and firms them while seasoning them during the brine.
Vinegar: Provides the sour acidity that preserves the pickles and balances the sugar.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness that balances the sharp acidity of the vinegar.
White mustard seeds: Contribute a sharp, pungent flavor to the spiced vinegar.
Green peppers: Add crisp texture and fresh, vegetal flavor to the finished pickles.

The step that matters

Tasting and rinsing after the brine. Salt is drawn into the cucumbers over three days of brining, so they can become too salty. Rinsing with cold water removes surface salt and the pickles need time to stand before the vinegar is added.

Swap the butternut

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cucumber, vinegar, cinnamon, allspice, pepper, mustard, clove):

Chickpeafits better
Lentilsfits about as well
Butternutthe original
Beansfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against cucumber, vinegar, cinnamon, allspice, pepper, mustard, clove. 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.

Cucumber Pickles