Name: Compote of Small Green Figs
Ingredients: 1 pint Compote Syrup; 12 small green figs; Whipped cream

Why it works: Syrup and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,964 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Compote of Small Green Figs

Ingredients

1 pint Compote Syrup
12 small green figs
Whipped cream

Directions

Stew the figs in 1 pint of Compote Syrup for 3 minutes.
Serve the figs with a dollop of 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.

Syrup + creamtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,964 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Syrup + figtop 20% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together114 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Fig + creamtop 26% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together523 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

Small green figs: Provide the main fruit, softening into tender pieces as they stew in the syrup.
Compote syrup: Sweetens the figs and carries heat evenly so they cook gently in the liquid.
Whipped cream: Adds a cool, rich fat that contrasts with the warm, sweet figs.