Why it works: Rhubarb and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,852 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Rhubarb Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Wipe the rhubarb with a damp cloth, peel it, and cut it into very small pieces.
In a saucepan, combine the rhubarb and sugar without adding water, and stew it slowly until done.
Turn the mixture into a dish and let it cool.
Line a pie plate with the bottom crust, fill it with the rhubarb mixture, and cover with the top crust.
For tarts, place strips of crust across the top instead of using a full upper crust.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
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Rhubarb + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,852 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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