Name: Raw Cereal Medley
Ingredients: equal portions of rolled oats; equal portions of rolled wheat; equal portions of corn flakes; equal portions of shredded coconut; equal portions of pine nuts or walnuts; currants; raisins or chopped dates; olive oil, honey or cream for serving

Why it works: Pine and olive match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,062 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Raw Cereal Medley

Ingredients

equal portions of rolled oats
equal portions of rolled wheat
equal portions of corn flakes
equal portions of shredded coconut
equal portions of pine nuts or walnuts
currants
raisins or chopped dates
olive oil, honey or cream for serving

Directions

Combine equal portions of rolled oats, rolled wheat, corn flakes, shredded coconut, and pine nuts or walnuts in a bowl, then add currants, raisins, or chopped dates to the mixture.
Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, honey, or a splash of 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.

Pine + olivetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,062 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Wheat + corntop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together465 recipes

Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
Corn + coconuttop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together306 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Wheat + olivetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,100 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Oats + wheattop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together473 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-octenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Rolled oats: Provide the bulk and a chewy, hearty texture in the raw mix.
Rolled wheat: Adds bulk and a mild, nutty grain texture to the blend.
Corn flakes: Add crisp crunch and a light, toasty sweetness to the mix.
Shredded coconut: Adds chewy texture and a distinct tropical aroma.
Pine nuts or walnuts: Contribute richness, crunch, and fat for a satisfying bite.
Currants: Add concentrated sweetness and chewy bursts of fruit flavour.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (oats, wheat, corn, coconut, pine, raisin, olive):

Avocadofits better
Vanillafits better
Cherryfits better
Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against oats, wheat, corn, coconut, pine, raisin, olive. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.