Name: Syrup of Marsh-Mallows
Ingredients: 2 ounces fresh marshmallow roots; 1 ounce parsley roots; ½ ounce liquorice root; ½ ounce tops of marsh-mallows; ½ ounce tops of mallows; 3 ounces stoned raisins; 1 ounce blanched sweet almonds

Why it works: Raisin and almond are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,781 recipes. Both carry 2-nonanone, which smells fruity, floral. The science ↓

Syrup of Marsh-Mallows

Ingredients

Directions

Steep all ingredients in water for one day.
Strain the mixture and press out the juice.
Boil the strained liquid until it thickens.
Bottle the syrup and seal it for later use.

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.

Raisin + almondtop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,781 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
Parsley + almondtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together548 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Parsley + raisintop 27% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).