Name: Date Rolls
Ingredients: light bread dough; butter; chopped dates; chopped figs (optional)

Why it works: Dates and fig work together. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 318 recipes. Both carry 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, which smells clove, smoky. The science ↓

Date Rolls

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

light bread dough
butter
chopped dates
chopped figs (optional)

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Roll the dough to 1 inch thick.
Spread the dough with butter.
Sprinkle chopped dates and figs over the butter.
Roll up the dough tightly.
Slice the rolled dough crosswise into 1-inch thick pieces.
Place the slices in a well-greased pan.
Let the rolls rise.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until golden.

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.

Dates + figtop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together318 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Bread + figtop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together374 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Bread + datestop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together100 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Butter + figtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,042 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).