Why it works: Orange and pineapple are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,664 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓
Fruit Punch
Ingredients
Directions
Squeeze the lemons and 3 of the oranges.
If using fresh strawberries, mash ¾ of them through a fine colander.
Seed and quarter the grapes.
Cut the pineapple into small cubes.
Slice the remaining oranges and strawberries into small pieces.
Combine all the fruits in a large bowl.
Add water and sugar to taste.
Serve in tall glasses with chopped ice and garnish with 2 cherries.
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.
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Orange + pineappletop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,664 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
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Pineapple + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,841 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Orange + sugartop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked 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
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pineapple, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Bananafits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pineapple, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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