Name: Ambrosia
Ingredients: 10 oranges, peeled and sliced; 1 coconut, grated; 1 pineapple, sliced; powdered sugar

Why it works: Coconut and pineapple match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 651 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Ambrosia

Ingredients

10 oranges, peeled and sliced
1 coconut, grated
1 pineapple, sliced
powdered sugar

Directions

Assemble

Arrange the orange and pineapple slices in alternate layers.
Sprinkle each layer with powdered sugar and grated coconut.

Serve

Keep cool 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.

Coconut + pineappletop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together651 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Orange + pineappletop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,664 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
Orange + coconuttop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together584 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Pineapple + sugartop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together4,841 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Orange + sugartop 20% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together19,212 recipes

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

Orange and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 19,212 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

Oranges: Provide juicy segments and bright acidity that balance the sweetness.
Coconut: Adds moisture-rich texture and a mild, sweet flavour.
Pineapple: Contributes juice, tartness and fresh fruity flavour.
Powdered sugar: Dissolves into the fruit juices, adding sweetness to the salad.