Name: Rhubarb Water
Ingredients: 7 stalks green rhubarb, sliced; ¼ pound chopped figs or raisins; 3 pints water; few drops orange-flower water; lemon or orange syrup to taste

Why it works: Orange and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,634 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Rhubarb Water

Ingredients

7 stalks green rhubarb, sliced
¼ pound chopped figs or raisins
3 pints water
few drops orange-flower water
lemon or orange syrup to taste

Directions

Make the rhubarb water

Boil the rhubarb and figs or raisins in water for 30 minutes.
Strain the mixture through muslin.

Flavour and serve

Add orange-flower water and syrup to taste.
Ice 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.

Orange + lemontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,634 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Rhubarb + orangetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together299 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
Fig + orangetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together407 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Rhubarb + figtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together48 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
Rhubarb + lemontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together546 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

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

What each ingredient does

Rhubarb: Provides the tart, acidic flavour that gives the drink its character.
Figs or raisins: Add natural sweetness and body to the boiled liquid.