Name: Peach Dumplings
Ingredients: large peaches; blanched almonds; rice

Why it works: Peach and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 466 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Peach Dumplings

Ingredients

large peaches
blanched almonds
rice

Directions

Cut the peaches in half and remove the pit, replacing it with blanched almonds.
Boil the rice until thick.
Spread the rice on a large piece of cheesecloth, enough to cover the peaches, and tie the ends firmly.
Place the wrapped peaches in a steamer and steam for two hours.
Serve with wine sauce.

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.

Peach + almondtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together466 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Almond + ricetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,456 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Peach + ricetop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together171 recipes

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