Name: Ginger Fizz
Ingredients: 1 gallon simple syrup; 2 ounces ginger ale extract; 1 ounce lemon extract; 1 ounce citric acid solution; 2 ounces syrup per glass; 1 teaspoon powdered sugar

Why it works: Ginger and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,154 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Ginger Fizz

Ingredients

Directions

Make the syrup

Combine the simple syrup, ginger ale extract, lemon extract, and citric acid solution in a large container.

Serve

To serve, pour 2 ounces of the syrup into a glass.
Add a teaspoon of powdered sugar and mix well.

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.

Ginger + lemontop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,154 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Syrup + sugartop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,842 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Syrup + gingertop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together950 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ginger + sugartop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together14,054 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together53,532 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Ginger and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 14,054 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Simple syrup: Provides the sweetness and body that makes up most of the drink.
Ginger ale extract: Supplies the ginger flavour that defines the drink.
Lemon extract: Adds bright citrus aroma to balance the sweetness.
Citric acid solution: Adds sourness that brightens the syrup and offsets its sweetness.
Powdered sugar: Dissolves quickly to add extra sweetness to each glass.