Why it works: Dates and fig work together. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 318 recipes. Both carry 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, which smells clove, smoky. The science ↓
Sandwich Combinations
Ingredients
Directions
Chop dried fruits and nuts finely.
Moisten with orange juice.
Mix dates, figs, and jelly.
Mash hard-boiled egg yolks and add melted butter, salt, and cayenne.
In summer, add chopped nasturtiums.
Combine chopped chicken and celery.
Mix lamb, mutton, mint leaves, and catsup.
Combine peas and mayonnaise.
Mix tomato jelly and mayonnaise.
Layer sliced quinces with guava jelly.
Mix chopped nuts with melted butter.
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.
-
Dates + figtop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together318 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
-
Fig + orangetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together407 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Orange + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,402 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
-
Dates + orangetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together151 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
-
Fig + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together203 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the nuts
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (dates, fig, orange, egg, butter, pepper, chicken):
- Almondfits better
- Walnutfits better
- Pecansfits better
- Nutsthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against dates, fig, orange, egg, butter, pepper, chicken. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Mixed Bread28 recipes
Breaded Chicken23 recipes
Cornbread345 recipes
Bread Pudding336 recipes