Name: Cough Syrup for Children
Ingredients: 1 fl. ounce Ipecacuanha Wine; 30 minims Solution of Cochineal; 1 fl. drachm Spirit of Anise; 4 fl. ounces Syrup of Balsam of Tolu; 4 fl. ounces Syrup of Squill; Distilled Water, sufficient quantity to produce 20 fl. ounces

Why it works: Wine and spirit work together. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 701 recipes. Both carry isoamyl acetate, which smells banana, fruity. The science ↓

Cough Syrup for Children

Ingredients

1 fl. ounce Ipecacuanha Wine
30 minims Solution of Cochineal
1 fl. drachm Spirit of Anise
4 fl. ounces Syrup of Balsam of Tolu
4 fl. ounces Syrup of Squill
Distilled Water, sufficient quantity to produce 20 fl. ounces

Directions

Mix all ingredients together in a suitable container.
Add distilled 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.

Wine + spirittop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together701 recipes

Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
Spirit + syruptop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together141 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Anise + syruptop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together38 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Wine + anisetop 27% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together22 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).