Name: Nectar Syrup
Ingredients: 1 quart vanilla syrup; 4 ounces port wine; ½ ounce soda foam; 2 quarts simple syrup

Why it works: Vanilla and syrup are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,855 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Nectar Syrup

Ingredients

1 quart vanilla syrup
4 ounces port wine
½ ounce soda foam
2 quarts simple syrup

Directions

Combine the vanilla syrup, port wine, and soda foam in a large mixing bowl.
Stir in the simple syrup until well mixed.
Serve chilled or use as a flavoring for beverages.

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.

Vanilla + syruptop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,855 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Vanilla + port winetop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Syrup + port winetop 25% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together36 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Vanilla syrup: Provides the main sweetness and vanilla aroma that flavors the whole mixture.
Port wine: Adds fruity, sweet depth and a little acidity to the syrup.
Simple syrup: Adds sweetness and bulk, making up most of the liquid volume.