Name: Raisin and Rhubarb Pie
Ingredients: 1 cup rhubarb, peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces; 1 cup raisins, washed and pitted; 1 cup sugar; Juice and grated rind of 1 lemon; 1 egg

Why it works: Rhubarb and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 546 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓

Raisin and Rhubarb Pie

Ingredients

1 cup rhubarb, peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces
1 cup raisins, washed and pitted
1 cup sugar
Juice and grated rind of 1 lemon
1 egg

Directions

Prepare the filling

Cover rhubarb with boiling water and let stand for 5 minutes, then drain.
Mix rhubarb and raisins in a bowl.
Add sugar, lemon juice, lemon rind, and egg to the mixture.

Bake

Place the filling between two pie crusts.
Bake at 450°F (230°C) for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 400°F (200°C) and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes.

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.

Rhubarb + lemontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together546 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Rhubarb + raisintop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together47 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,481 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Raisin + lemontop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,742 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together53,532 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Rhubarb: Provides the tart flavour and moisture that cooks down into the filling.
Raisins: Add chewy texture and concentrated sweetness to the filling.
Sugar: Sweetens the filling and helps draw out moisture from the fruit.
Egg: Binds the filling so it sets rather than running when sliced.