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Pickled Peppers

A method for preserving peppers in a vinegar brine with salt, cloves, allspice, and alum.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 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 ↓

Pickled Peppers

Ingredients

Directions

Brine

  1. In a large bowl, combine the peppers with the salt and enough scalding water to cover them.

  2. Place a weight on top to keep the peppers submerged and let them sit for 2 days.

  3. After 2 days, remove the peppers and let them drain.

Prepare and pickle

  1. Make a small opening in the side of each pepper to release excess water.

  2. Wipe the peppers clean and place them in a stone jar.

  3. Add the cloves, allspice, and alum to the jar.

  4. Cover the peppers completely with cold vinegar.

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. Allspice + vinegartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,548 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).

  5. Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

What each ingredient does

Peppers
The main vegetable; the brine and vinegar soften and preserve its flesh.
Coarse sea salt
Draws water out of the peppers and inhibits spoilage microbes during the brining stage.
Cold vinegar
Acidifies the peppers, preserving them and giving them their sharp, tangy flavor.
Cloves
Adds warm, aromatic spice flavor to the pickling liquid and peppers.
Allspice
Adds warm, aromatic spice flavor that complements the vinegar and peppers.

The step that matters

Brining the peppers for 2 days under a weight. The peppers must stay fully submerged in the salted water; any part exposed to air can spoil or mould. Salt draws out water and slows microbial growth, so the peppers firm and keep during the long soak.

“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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