Name: Tarragoh Vinegar
Ingredients: tarragon leaves; white-wine vinegar

Why it works: Tarragon and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,547 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Tarragoh Vinegar

Ingredients

tarragon leaves
white-wine vinegar

Directions

Gather tarragon on a dry day and pluck the leaves from the stalks.
Place the leaves on a plate near the fire for at least 1 hour.
Fill a wide-mouthed bottle with the dried leaves.
Pour white-wine vinegar over the leaves until the bottle is full.
Cork the bottle tightly and let it sit for 2 weeks.
Strain the clear liquid into sauce bottles for use.
Store in a dry place, well corked.

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.

Tarragon + vinegartop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,547 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Wine + vinegartop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,493 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Tarragon + winetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together521 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).