Name: Cherry Cough Mixture
Ingredients: 480 grains potassium bromide; 2 fluid ounces ipecacuanha wine; 6 fluid ounces oxymel of squill; 18 fluid ounces syrup; 4 fluid ounces syrup of balsam of tolu; 20 fluid ounces syrup of black cherry; 4 fluid ounces syrup of horehound; 2 fluid ounces compound tincture of camphor; 4 fluid ounces distilled water

Why it works: Wine and cherry work together. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 423 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity. The science ↓

Cherry Cough Mixture

Ingredients

480 grains potassium bromide
2 fluid ounces ipecacuanha wine
6 fluid ounces oxymel of squill
18 fluid ounces syrup
4 fluid ounces syrup of balsam of tolu
20 fluid ounces syrup of black cherry
4 fluid ounces syrup of horehound
2 fluid ounces compound tincture of camphor
4 fluid ounces distilled water

Directions

Mix all ingredients thoroughly.
Add distilled water to reach a total volume of 80 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.

Wine + cherrytop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together423 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).
Syrup + cherrytop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together339 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Wine + camphortop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together99 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
Wine + syruptop 30% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together381 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Syrup + camphortop 35% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together20 recipes