Name: Teething Syrup
Ingredients: 240 grains Ammonium Bromide; 40 grains Ammonium Carbonate; 200 grains Sodium Bicarbonate; 4 fl. drachms Spirit of Chloroform; 8 fl. ounces Syrup; 4 fl. drachms Tincture of Saffron; Anise Water, sufficient quantity to produce 20 fl. ounces

Why it works: Saffron and anise share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Teething Syrup

Ingredients

240 grains Ammonium Bromide
40 grains Ammonium Carbonate
200 grains Sodium Bicarbonate
4 fl. drachms Spirit of Chloroform
8 fl. ounces Syrup
4 fl. drachms Tincture of Saffron
Anise Water, sufficient quantity to produce 20 fl. ounces

Directions

Mix all ingredients thoroughly.
Add Anise Water until the total volume reaches 20 fluid ounces.

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.

Saffron + anisetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Spirit + syruptop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together141 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Spirit + saffrontop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together69 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Syrup + saffrontop 20% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together68 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Spirit + anisetop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).