Name: London Cough Syrup
Ingredients: 2 drachms wild cherry extract; 2 ounces simple syrup; 6 ounces glycerine; 3 ounces syrup of tar; 1 quart water; 4 ounces pine tar; 1 pound loaf sugar; ½ pint good rum

Why it works: Syrup and sugar match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,842 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

London Cough Syrup

Ingredients

Directions

Mix wild cherry extract, simple syrup, glycerine, and syrup of tar in a bowl.
Pour the mixture into 2 quarts of water and simmer until reduced to 1 quart.
Stir in pine tar until nearly cold.
Add loaf sugar and rum, stirring until dissolved.

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.

Syrup + sugartop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,842 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Cherry + pinetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together80 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Cherry + rumtop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together155 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl pentanoate (yeast, fruit).
Sugar + rumtop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,908 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Syrup + rumtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together367 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).