Name: A Croque-en-bouche Composed of Different Kinds of Fruits in Caramel
Ingredients: greengages; Orleans plums; grapes; cherries; pink pears; oranges; caramel

Why it works: Plum and pear match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 245 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

A Croque-en-bouche Composed of Different Kinds of Fruits in Caramel

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the fruits in caramel as directed in previous recipes.
If using preserved fruits, drain and partially dry them before dipping in caramel.
Rub a plain high round mold with almond oil.
Arrange the caramel fruits in circular rows, starting with larger fruits at the base and ending with smaller fruits on top.
Lift the croque-en-bouche off the mold onto a serving dish.

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.

Plum + peartop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together245 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Grape + peartop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together252 recipes

Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
Plum + grapetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together238 recipes

Shared aroma: damascenone (apple, rose).
Grape + orangetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,771 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Plum + orangetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together309 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).