Name: Chilled Plum Soup
Ingredients: 2qt water; 1cup sugar; 1stk cinnamon crushed; 1/2tsp ground allspice; 1/2tsp ground black pepper; 6cup pitted and sliced red plums about 2lbs; 1/4cup cornstarch; 1/2 cup cold water; 1 cup dry red wine chilled; 1cup heavy cream whipped; thinly sliced plums for garnish

Why it works: Cinnamon and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,536 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

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.

Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,536 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Plum + red winetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together107 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Allspice + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,395 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Cinnamon + plumtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together513 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Pepper + plumtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,052 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Cornstarch: Thickens the soup into a smooth, lightly viscous body as it boils.
Red plums: Provide the main fruit flavor, sweetness, and acidity, and color the soup.
Sugar: Sweetens the soup and balances the tartness of the plums.
Dry red wine: Adds depth and acidity, stirred in cold just before serving to keep its flavor fresh.
Heavy cream: Adds richness and a cool, creamy contrast to the chilled soup.

The step that matters

Adding the cornstarch slurry. Cornstarch must be stirred constantly into hot liquid and brought back to a boil to fully thicken and lose its raw starchy taste. Lumps form if it is added to still-hot liquid without stirring, or if the paste is not thin and smooth first.

Swap the allspice

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, cinnamon, pepper, plum, red wine, cream):

Clovefits better
Nutmegfits better
Cardamomfits about as well
Allspicethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, cinnamon, pepper, plum, red wine, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Plum	1 medium (66g)	30
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Allspice	1 tsp ground (1.9g)	5
Water	not in our table	0

Chilled Plum Soup