Why it works: Allspice and clove 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 ↓
Cucumber Pickles
Ingredients
Directions
Brine the cucumbers
Wash the cucumbers thoroughly.
Make a brine with salt and water strong enough to float an egg.
Pour the brine over the cucumbers.
Place a weight on top to keep the cucumbers submerged.
Let the cucumbers stand for nine days.
After nine days, remove the cucumbers and wash them in fresh water.
Green the pickles
Line the bottom of a kettle with green cabbage leaves.
Add the cucumbers to the kettle.
Mix equal parts vinegar and water to cover the cucumbers.
Pour the vinegar and water mixture over the cucumbers.
Add another layer of cabbage leaves on top.
Heat over low heat until the water is hot, but do not let it simmer.
Once the cucumbers are perfectly green, remove them.
Let the cucumbers drain.
Wipe the cucumbers dry.
Jar and store
Place the cucumbers in jars with allspice, cloves, and small onions or garlic.
Add a piece of alum to each jar to keep them firm.
Cover the pickles with the best cider vinegar.
Seal the jars tightly.
Store in a cool, dry place.
For added flavor, mix in one tablespoon of sugar.
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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Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Cider + vinegartop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,431 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
-
Cucumber + allspicetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together501 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).
-
Cucumber + oniontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,050 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Cucumber + vinegartop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,734 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cucumbers
- Provide the crisp body that the brine and vinegar transform into pickles.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws water out of the cucumbers and seasons them during the brine.
- Cider vinegar
- Adds acidity that preserves the pickles and gives their tangy flavor.
- Alum
- Helps keep the cucumber pieces firm during pickling.
- Sugar (optional)
- Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the vinegar.
The step that matters
Heating the vinegar and water without simmering. Keeping the liquid just hot, not boiling, lets the cucumbers turn green and stay firm; boiling can soften them and make them mushy.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cucumber, cider, vinegar, allspice, clove, sugar):
- Mustardfits better
- Radishfits better
- Horseradishfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cucumber, cider, vinegar, allspice, clove, 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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