Name: Sweet Sauce for Roast Mutton or Venison
Ingredients: ½ cup red port; 2 tablespoons vinegar; ¼ cup cullis; 2 teaspoons sugar; 1 onion, boiled and mashed through a sieve; ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Why it works: Sugar and cinnamon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 30,779 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Sweet Sauce for Roast Mutton or Venison

Ingredients

Directions

Combine red port, vinegar, cullis, sugar, mashed onion, and ground cinnamon in a saucepan.
Bring the mixture to a boil before serving.

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.

Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together30,779 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Vinegar + oniontop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,226 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,806 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Onion + cinnamontop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,150 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Vinegar + cinnamontop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,187 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).

Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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

Red port: Adds wine flavor and acidity, giving the sauce depth and a sweet-tart character.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that sharpens the sauce and balances its sweetness.
Cullis: Provides a concentrated meat-based liquid that gives the sauce body and savory flavor.
Sugar: Adds sweetness that balances the acidity of the port and vinegar.
Onion: Contributes savory flavor and body when mashed smooth and cooked into the sauce.