Name: Canned Peaches
Ingredients: 1 fire-shovel of wood ashes; 1 dozen peaches; white sugar for syrup; cold water

Why it works: Sugar and syrup match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,842 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Canned Peaches

Ingredients

1 fire-shovel of wood ashes
1 dozen peaches
white sugar for syrup
cold water

Directions

Make a strong lye by boiling wood ashes in water and strain it into another kettle.
Boil the lye on the stove.
Add the peaches to the boiling lye for about 2 minutes.
Remove the peaches and immediately pour cold water over them to loosen the skins.
Place the peeled peaches in a jar as you finish.
Prepare a strong syrup with white sugar and pour it over the peaches, filling the jar to the brim.
Place the lid on the jar but do not seal it tightly at first.
Set the jars in a boiler of cold water with small pieces of wood at the bottom to prevent cracking.
Slowly bring the water to a boil and continue boiling until the peaches are cooked.
Seal the covers tightly and store the jars in a dry, cool, dark place once the water cools.

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.

Sugar + syruptop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,842 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Peach + sugartop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,308 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Peach + syruptop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together210 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).