Name: Snow Jelly
Ingredients: 1 package strawberry jelly powder; 1 pint hot water; grated coconut; powdered sugar; thick cream

Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

Snow Jelly

Ingredients

Directions

Make the jelly

Dissolve the strawberry jelly powder in hot water.
Fill molds with the mixture and allow to cool until hard.

Serve

Turn the jelly out onto a platter.
Cover with grated coconut and sift powdered sugar over the top.
Serve with thick 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.

Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Strawberry + coconuttop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together201 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Strawberry + creamtop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,525 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Coconut + creamtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,223 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Strawberry + sugartop 20% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,060 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Strawberry jelly powder: Gelatin-based powder that sets the hot water into a firm, sliceable jelly as it cools.
Grated coconut: Adds a soft, dry topping with a contrasting texture and mild coconut flavor.
Thick cream: Adds richness and a cool, creamy contrast to the sweet, firm jelly.