Chef Joost
Appelcompote
Appelcompote is the apple left with its dignity: soft enough to spoon beside pork or potatoes, still chunky enough to remind you autumn did the real work.
Culinary Explorer
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Acar Ketimun (Indo-Dutch Cucumber Pickle)
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Acar means pickle, ketimun means cucumber, and this little bowl of sweet vinegar, chilli, and crunch is the cool note that lets an Indo-Dutch rijsttafel keep its balance.
Sauces & Condiments
Dutch
Make Ahead
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
20 min
Active Time
0 min cook•1 hr 20 min total
Yieldabout 500ml, 6 to 8 servings as a condiment
The smallest bowl on the rijsttafel is often the one doing the most work. I learned this not in a grand hotel dining room, but at an Indo-Dutch family table where the rice arrived in a plain white bowl, the sambal sat there looking innocent, and a dish of acar ketimun waited beside it like a cool hand on the wrist. But let me tell you a secret: without that little sweet-sour crunch, the whole table leans too far into heat and fat.
The name already tells you what matters. Acar is the pickle, a word that belongs to the old Indian Ocean traffic of vinegar, salt, fruit, and vegetables; ketimun is cucumber, though in many Indonesian kitchens you will also hear mentimun. This is not a garnish borrowed for prettiness. It is table architecture. Vinegar cuts the chilli. Sugar rounds the vinegar. Salt wakes the cucumber. The carrot is there for bite and colour, the shallot for a clean little sting.
History and cookery, they cannot be separated, but the cooking here is almost laughably simple. Salt the cucumber first so it gives up its water, then give it vinegar sweetened just enough to smile, not enough to become syrup. I prefer to keep it a bit more relaxed, in the Dutch way: make it before the guests come, set it in a small bowl, and let everyone discover that the sharpest memory of a feast can be a pickle.
Acar ketimun entered Dutch home cooking through the Indo-Dutch table and the rijsttafel, the colonial-era rice table that developed in the Dutch East Indies during the nineteenth century and later became a restaurant and family tradition in the Netherlands. The word acar is related to the wider Indian Ocean vocabulary of pickles, including Hindi and Urdu achar and Persian achar, while ketimun means cucumber in Indonesian, alongside mentimun in common speech. After Indonesian independence in 1945 and the migration of Indo-European and Moluccan families to the Netherlands, small bowls of cucumber acar became familiar beside nasi goreng, satay, and other dishes that now sit firmly inside Dutch food memory.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
firm cucumbers
Quantity
2, about 600g
halved lengthwise and cut into small batons or half moons
carrot
Quantity
1 medium
peeled and cut into matchsticks
shallots
Quantity
3 small
thinly sliced
red chillies
Quantity
1 to 2
thinly sliced
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon
for drawing out the cucumber
mild white vinegar or rice vinegar
Quantity
120ml
hot water
Quantity
60ml
sugar
Quantity
50g
fine sea salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
for the brine
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| firm cucumbershalved lengthwise and cut into small batons or half moons | 2, about 600g |
| carrotpeeled and cut into matchsticks | 1 medium |
| shallotsthinly sliced | 3 small |
| red chilliesthinly sliced | 1 to 2 |
| fine sea saltfor drawing out the cucumber | 1 teaspoon |
| mild white vinegar or rice vinegar | 120ml |
| hot water | 60ml |
| sugar | 50g |
| fine sea saltfor the brine | 1/2 teaspoon |
Equipment Needed
- •750ml clean glass jar or lidded bowl
- •Colander
- •Sharp knife or mandoline for thin slicing
Instructions
- 1
Salt the cucumber
Put the cucumber pieces in a colander and toss them with 1 teaspoon fine sea salt. Leave them for 20 minutes while they give up their excess water. This is not fussing. Cucumber is mostly water, for obvious reasons, and if you skip this little wait it will thin the brine before the vinegar has done its work.
If your cucumbers have a watery seed core, scrape it out before slicing. The pickle should crunch under the teeth, not sigh politely and collapse. - 2
Rinse and dry
Rinse the salted cucumber quickly under cold water, then pat it dry with a clean towel. Do this briskly. You are removing harsh surface salt, not giving the cucumber a second bath.
- 3
Make the brine
Stir the vinegar, hot water, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt together until the sugar dissolves. Taste it. It should strike sharp first, then sweet, with enough salt to make the cucumber taste more like itself. If your vinegar is fierce, add a spoonful more water; if it is sleepy, add a splash more vinegar.
- 4
Pack the jar
Put the cucumber, carrot, shallots, and chilli into a clean 750ml jar or a small glass bowl. Pour over the brine and press the vegetables down so they sit in it. They may look a little crowded at first. Good. After half an hour they relax and the brine finds every corner.
- 5
Rest it cold
Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, though 4 hours is better. The cucumber stays bright, the shallot loses its raw shout, and the chilli moves through the vinegar instead of sitting in one angry slice. Hou het altijd simpel, always keep it simple: make the pickle, leave it alone, serve it cold.
- 6
Serve drained
Lift the acar from the brine with a slotted spoon and serve it in a small bowl beside nasi goreng, satay, grilled fish, or a full rijsttafel, the Dutch rice table. Do not drown the plate with the brine. Acar is there to cut richness and heat, not to flood the rice.
Chef Tips
- •Use firm, unwaxed cucumbers if you can. Soft cucumbers make a wet pickle, and no amount of vinegar can restore a crunch that was never there.
- •Do not use malt vinegar here. It is too heavy and brown for this job. A mild white vinegar or rice vinegar keeps the pickle clean and bright.
- •Make acar ketimun the same day if you want the best crunch. It keeps for three days in the refrigerator, but after the first day the cucumber softens and the pickle becomes gentler.
- •For a dinner party, make it in the morning and serve it cold in the evening. This is exactly the sort of make-ahead dish that lets the cook sit down like a civilized person.
Advance Preparation
- •Make at least 1 hour ahead; 4 hours gives the best balance of sharpness, sweetness, and crunch.
- •Keeps covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Drain before serving so the brine does not run across the plate.
- •The vegetables can be cut and salted 2 hours ahead, then dried and combined with the brine closer to serving for a crisper pickle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 70g)
Calories
55 calories
Total Fat
0 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
0 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
400 mg
Total Carbohydrates
13 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
10 g
Protein
1 g
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