Name: Tincture of Rhubarb
Ingredients: 2 ounces rhubarb; ½ ounce husked lesser cardamon seeds; 2 drams saffron; 2 pints proof spirits

Why it works: Rhubarb and saffron share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓

Tincture of Rhubarb

Ingredients

2 ounces rhubarb
½ ounce husked lesser cardamon seeds
2 drams saffron
2 pints proof spirits

Directions

Combine rhubarb, cardamon seeds, saffron, and proof spirits in a jar.
Let the mixture sit without heat for 3 to 4 days.
Strain the mixture to separate the tincture for use.

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.

Rhubarb + saffrontop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together27 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Rhubarb + spirittop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together46 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Saffron + spirittop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together69 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).