Name: Sweet Pickle Relish
Ingredients: 5 cups green tomatoes, chopped and drained; 5 cups cabbage, chopped; 3 large sweet peppers, chopped; 2 large red sweet peppers, chopped; 4 large onions, chopped; 2 tablespoons mustard seed; 1 teaspoon celery seed; 6 small red peppers, chopped; 4 cups vinegar; 1 cup brown sugar; 1 cup white sugar; 1 tablespoon cinnamon; 2 tablespoons nutmeg; 1 teaspoon ginger; 2 tablespoons flour; 1 tablespoon ground mustard; 1 tablespoon whole cloves

Why it works: Mustard and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,169 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. 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.

Mustard + celerytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,169 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Cabbage + mustardtop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,645 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,377 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Pepper + celerytop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Cabbage + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,081 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

Green tomatoes: Provides the bulk and tart base of the relish.
Cabbage: Adds bulk and a crisp-tender texture after cooking.
Onions: Contributes savoury depth and aroma as they soften.
Vinegar: Supplies the acidity that gives the relish its tang and helps preserve it.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and a molasses note that balances the vinegar.
White sugar: Adds sweetness and helps balance the acidity.

The step that matters

Cooking until tender. The vegetables must soften fully so the relish has a uniform texture and the flavours meld. Stopping too early leaves chunky, raw-tasting pieces, while overcooking turns them mushy and dull.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cabbage, pepper, onion, mustard, celery, vinegar, sugar):

Horseradishfits better
Broccolifits better
Lettucefits better
Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cabbage, pepper, onion, mustard, celery, vinegar, 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.

Sweet Pickle Relish