Name: Pickled Raisins
Ingredients: 4 pounds layer raisins (left on the stems); 1 pound sugar; 1 quart vinegar

Why it works: Raisin and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,481 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Pickled Raisins

Ingredients

4 pounds layer raisins (left on the stems)
1 pound sugar
1 quart vinegar

Directions

Combine the raisins, sugar, and vinegar in a pot.
Simmer the mixture for 30 minutes.
Transfer the pickled raisins to a jar and cover.

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.

Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,481 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,806 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Raisin + vinegartop 27% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together769 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Layer raisins: Provide the main fruit body and chewy texture that absorbs the pickling liquid.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps balance the sharpness of the vinegar.
Vinegar: Provides acidity that preserves the raisins and gives the pickled flavour.