Name: Grape Fruit Punch
Ingredients: one cup of sugar; one cup of grape fruit juice; two cups of water; one large lemon

Why it works: Grape and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,412 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Grape Fruit Punch

Ingredients

one cup of sugar
one cup of grape fruit juice
two cups of water
one large lemon

Directions

Boil one cup of sugar and two cups of water for fifteen minutes.
Add one cup of grapefruit juice.
Add the juice of one large lemon.
Add the beaten white of one.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

123Calories

1 gProtein

0 gFat

32 gCarbs

Counts 3 of 5 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 3 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Fruit Juice	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Norton, Caroline Trask. 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. See the original page.

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.

Grape + lemontop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,412 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together53,532 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar + grapetop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together7,490 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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

Sugar: Sweetens the punch and, once boiled with water, forms a syrup that gives body.
Grapefruit juice: Provides the main citrus flavor and liquid base of the punch.
Lemon juice: Adds acidity that brightens the sweetness and balances the grapefruit.
Egg white (in the method): Beaten whites trap air, adding a light, frothy texture to the punch.