Name: Mint Sauce
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon finely chopped mint; 1 tablespoon sugar; ½ cup cider vinegar

Why it works: Cider and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,431 recipes. Both carry 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓

Mint Sauce

Ingredients

1 tablespoon finely chopped mint
1 tablespoon sugar
½ cup cider vinegar

Directions

Combine vinegar and sugar in a sauceboat.
Stir in the chopped mint.
Let the mixture stand for 15 minutes before serving.

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.

Cider + vinegartop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,431 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,806 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Mint + vinegartop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,376 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Mint + cidertop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together115 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Sugar + cidertop 27% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,308 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Mint: Provides the fresh, aromatic flavour that defines the sauce.
Sugar: Sweetens the sharp vinegar, balancing its acidity.
Cider vinegar: Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and lightly softens the mint.