Name: An Invalid Drink
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons grape juice; 1 egg white, beaten; chopped ice; sugar

Why it works: Egg and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

An Invalid Drink

Ingredients

2 tablespoons grape juice
1 egg white, beaten
chopped ice
sugar

Directions

Place 2 tablespoons of grape juice in the bottom of a wineglass.
Add the beaten egg white and a little chopped ice.
Sprinkle sugar over the top and serve.

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.

Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Grape + sugartop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together7,490 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Grape + eggtop 30% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together4,690 recipes

Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Grape juice: Provides the main fruit flavor and sweetness, forming the base of the drink.
Egg white: Adds a light, frothy texture and body to the drink.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and balances the tartness of the grape juice.