Why it works: Rhubarb and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,852 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Stewed Rhubarb
Ingredients
Directions
Place the rhubarb pieces in a pan.
Add the powdered sugar and water.
Heat over medium, shaking the pan occasionally.
Once tender, pour into a basin and serve cold.
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.
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Rhubarb + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,852 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rhubarb
- Forms the body of the dish and gives its tart flavour as it softens.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the rhubarb and balances its tartness.
The step that matters
Heat over medium, shaking the pan occasionally. Gentle heat and regular shaking let the rhubarb soften evenly and reduce the chance of it scorching on the base of the pan, since only a little water is present to cook it.
“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.
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