Why it works: Cider and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,431 recipes. Both carry 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓
Pig's Foot Souse
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the meat
Boil the pig's feet until very tender.
When cold, cut all the meat and gristly parts from the bones and chop fine.
Make the souse
In a pot, combine the chopped meat with part of the jellied water from boiling the feet and ½ cup of cider vinegar. Stir everything together thoroughly.
Transfer the mixture into flat crocks.
When cold, pour over more vinegar and add a few grains of black pepper.
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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Cider + vinegartop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,431 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
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Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Pepper + cidertop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,234 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Pig's feet
- Provide the gelatinous meat and connective tissue that set the souse when cooled.
- Cider vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and helps preserve the meat.
- Tenderloin
- Adds lean, tender meat that bulks out the chopped filling.
The step that matters
Boil the feet until very tender. The feet must be fully tender so the meat separates easily from the bones and gristle. Collagen from the connective tissue breaks down into gelatin during long simmering, which is what makes the broth set firm once cold.
“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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