Why it works: Nutmeg and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,623 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Cream Fritters
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a large bowl, mix the milk, cream, eggs, grated nutmeg, and salt.
Gradually add the flour and baking powder, stirring until smooth.
Stir in the sweet cream last.
Fry
Heat the lard in a deep pan until hot.
Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot lard and fry until golden brown.
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.
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Nutmeg + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,920 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add richness and structure as the fritters set.
- Flour
- Forms the main structure of the batter, setting firm as it fries.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas that makes the fritters rise and turn light and airy.
- Cream
- Adds fat and moisture, giving the fritters a tender, rich crumb.
- Milk
- Adds moisture to loosen the batter and help it cook through.
The step that matters
Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot lard and fry until golden brown.. If the lard is not hot enough, the batter absorbs oil and turns greasy instead of crisping. Frying in hot fat seals the surface quickly and browns it evenly.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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