Name: Pop-corn Balls
Ingredients: 1 pint of syrup; 1 pint of sugar; 2 tablespoons of butter; 1 teaspoon of vinegar

Why it works: Syrup and sugar match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,842 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Pop-corn Balls

Ingredients

1 pint of syrup
1 pint of sugar
2 tablespoons of butter
1 teaspoon of vinegar

Directions

In a saucepan, combine the syrup and sugar over medium heat.
Stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil.
Add the butter and vinegar, stirring continuously until the mixture reaches a soft ball stage.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Once cool enough to handle, shape the mixture into balls using your hands.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Syrup + sugartop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,842 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,806 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together98,233 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Butter + vinegartop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together13,513 recipes

Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
Syrup + vinegartop 29% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together385 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).