Name: Cherry Tooth Paste
Ingredients: 2 ounces powdered orris; 4 teaspoons powdered myrrh; 2 ounces powdered pumice; 4 ounces honey; 30 drops oil of cloves; 1 teaspoon oil of lemon; 8 drops oil of rose; solution of carmine (as needed)

Why it works: Clove and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,150 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Cherry Tooth Paste

Ingredients

Directions

In a mortar, mix the powdered orris, powdered myrrh, and powdered pumice thoroughly.
Add the solution of carmine until the desired tint is achieved.
Incorporate the oil of cloves, oil of lemon, oil of rose, and honey.
Continue mixing until a smooth, homogeneous paste forms and the flavor is well developed.

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.

Clove + lemontop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,150 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Honey + rosetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together94 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Lemon + rosetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,174 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Honey + clovetop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together736 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Honey + lemontop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,707 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).