Name: Roast Wild Goose
Ingredients: 1 wild goose; dressing (as directed in No. 272); buttered paper; unsweetened apple sauce; cranberry jelly; currant jelly

Why it works: Apple and cranberry match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 169 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Roast Wild Goose

Oven, in the book's wordsA slow oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a slow oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Stuff the goose with the dressing until full and plump.
Cover the goose with a sheet of buttered paper.
Turn the goose over three or four times and baste frequently.
Bake for three-fourths of an hour longer when stuffed.
Serve with unsweetened apple sauce, cranberry, or currant 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.

Apple + cranberrytop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together169 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Apple + curranttop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,918 recipes

Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
Cranberry + curranttop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together81 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Sauce + cranberrytop 20% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together480 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Apple + saucetop 31% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together965 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).