Name: Marshmallow Delight
Ingredients: ½ lb marshmallows, cut fine; 1 can pitted red cherries; ½ lb walnuts, chopped; ¼ lb figs, chopped; 2 egg whites, beaten; whipped cream, for serving

Why it works: Walnut and fig match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 373 recipes. Both carry 2-hexenal, which smells green, leafy. The science ↓

Marshmallow Delight

Ingredients

Directions

Combine

In a large bowl, combine the marshmallows, cherries, walnuts, figs, and beaten egg whites.
Mix well until all ingredients are evenly distributed.

Serve

When ready to serve, gently fold in the whipped cream.

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.

Walnut + figtop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together373 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Walnut + creamtop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,982 recipes

Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
Walnut + eggtop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,037 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together42,166 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Fig + creamtop 26% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together523 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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

What each ingredient does

Marshmallows: Melt and bind into a sweet, sticky base that holds the other ingredients together.
Egg whites: Add structure and lightness when beaten, helping the mixture hold its body.
Whipped cream: Adds airy richness and a soft, creamy texture when folded in at the end.
Walnuts: Add crunch and a toasty, slightly bitter contrast to the sweet fruit and marshmallow.