Name: Flaxseed Syrup
Ingredients: 4 oz. whole flaxseed; 2 oz. raisins; 2 oz. licorice root; 2 qts. water; Juice of 1 lemon

Why it works: Flaxseed and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 151 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Flaxseed Syrup

Ingredients

Directions

Combine flaxseed, raisins, licorice root, and water in a pot.
Cook over low heat until the mixture reduces to 1 quart, avoiding boiling.
Strain the mixture and add lemon juice.
Serve hot or cold.

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.

Flaxseed + lemontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together151 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Raisin + lemontop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,742 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Flaxseed + raisintop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
Flaxseed + licoricetop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together23 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
Raisin + licoricetop 33% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).