Why it works: Sugar and vinegar 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 ↓
Water Melon Pickles
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Peel off the green rind of the watermelon and soak the pieces in saltwater overnight.
Drain and boil the watermelon pieces in clear water until tender.
Make the syrup and pickle
In a separate pot, combine sugar and vinegar to make a syrup; boil and skim.
Add spices to the syrup, then add the watermelon and boil until transparent.
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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Sugar + vinegartop 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
- Watermelon
- Provides the flesh that is softened and turned translucent in the sweet-sour syrup.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pickle and, in the syrup, helps preserve and thicken the liquid.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that gives the pickle its sharp flavour and helps preserve it.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws water out of the watermelon during the overnight soak, firming the pieces.
The step that matters
Boiling the watermelon until transparent. Boil only until the pieces turn translucent. Overcooking makes them mushy, while undercooking leaves them firm and unevenly sweetened because the syrup has not penetrated the flesh.
“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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