Name: Compote of Apple-paste
Ingredients: marmalade of apples; a few drops of cochineal; caramelled syrup; cinnamon liqueur

Why it works: Apple and cinnamon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,598 recipes. Both carry methyl cinnamate, which smells strawberry. The science ↓

Compote of Apple-paste

Ingredients

marmalade of apples
a few drops of cochineal
caramelled syrup
cinnamon liqueur

Directions

Reduce the apple marmalade until thick.
Color half of the marmalade pink with cochineal.
Spread each lot about ½ inch thick on clean plates and let them cool until stiff.
Cut the cooled marmalade into shapes like squares or diamonds.
Dip each piece in caramelled syrup using a fork.
Place the dipped pieces on a wire drainer over a dish.
Let them dry for 20 minutes.
Arrange the compote in a pyramid shape and pour cinnamon liqueur around the base.

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.

Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,598 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Syrup + cinnamontop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together990 recipes

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

Smell alikelow

Cooked together742 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).