Name: Claret Cup
Ingredients: 3 medium-sized lemons, juiced; 4 tablespoons powdered sugar; 2 ounces red curaçao; 2 slices cucumber rind; 3 pints claret; 1 bottle plain soda or 1 pint carbonated water; ¾ pound ice; 1 orange, finely sliced; Berries of any kind; ½ bunch fresh mint

Why it works: Lemon and orange match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,634 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. 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.

Lemon + orangetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,634 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Lemon + minttop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,998 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Cucumber + minttop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together884 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Orange + minttop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together549 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Lemon + cucumbertop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,067 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

What each ingredient does

Lemons: Provide acidity that balances the sweetness of the sugar and wine.
Powdered sugar: Adds sweetness and dissolves easily into the lemon juice.
Claret: Forms the wine base that gives the punch its body and flavor.
Soda or carbonated water: Adds fizz and dilutes the wine for a lighter drink.
Red curaçao: Adds orange-flavored sweetness and aroma.