Name: Fourth of July Sherry Cobbler
Ingredients: 2 cups pounded ice; 6 strawberries; 1 teaspoon lemon zest; 2 tablespoons powdered sugar; 1½ cups fine Sherry

Why it works: Lemon and sherry are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,273 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓

Fourth of July Sherry Cobbler

Ingredients

Directions

Fill a large tumbler two-thirds full with pounded ice.
Add the strawberries, lemon zest, and powdered sugar.
Pour in the fine Sherry and shake well.
Serve immediately.

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.

Lemon + sherrytop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,273 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together53,532 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar + sherrytop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together4,141 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Lemon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Fine sherry: Provides the main liquid base and its wine-like flavor and mild acidity to the drink.
Strawberries: Add fruit flavor, natural sweetness, and aroma to the drink.
Powdered sugar: Dissolves easily in the cold liquid, adding sweetness without grittiness.
Pounded ice: Chills the drink and dilutes it slightly as it melts during shaking.