Name: Edinboro' Cheese
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons raspberry jelly; 2 tablespoons powdered sugar; 2 egg whites

Why it works: Sugar and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

Edinboro' Cheese

Ingredients

2 tablespoons raspberry jelly
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 egg whites

Directions

Make the paste

In a bowl, combine raspberry jelly, powdered sugar, and egg whites.
Beat the mixture until it is well mixed and forms a stiff paste.

Serve

Transfer the mixture into a dish; it is ready to use.
For variation, mix in currant jelly or any other kind of jelly.

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 + eggtop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Raspberry + sugartop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,101 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Raspberry + eggtop 25% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,778 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

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

What each ingredient does

Egg whites: Whipped by beating, they trap air and give the paste its stiff, structured body.
Raspberry jelly: Adds sweetness, fruity flavor, and moisture to the paste.
Powdered sugar: Dissolves easily into the mixture, adding sweetness and a smoother texture.