Name: A Syrup for Purifying the Blood
Ingredients: 6 pounds sarsaparilla; 3 ounces gum guaiacum; 2 pounds sassafras root bark; 2 pounds elderflowers; 2 pounds burdock root; 1 gallon spirits; 1 gallon water; 15 pounds sugar; 1 teaspoon saleratus

Why it works: Spirit and sugar work together. They rank in the top 25% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 602 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

A Syrup for Purifying the Blood

Ingredients

Directions

Combine sarsaparilla, gum guaiacum, sassafras root bark, elderflowers, and burdock root in a large pot.
Add spirits and water, then boil the mixture.
Pour off the liquid until all strength is extracted.
Boil down the liquid until it reduces to 6 quarts.
Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
Once reduced to 2 quarts, add saleratus to each bottle.
Take ⅓ cup three times a day.

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.

Spirit + sugartop 25% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together602 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Burdock + sugartop 27% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together28 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Burdock + spirittop 35% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).