Rum and Milk

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.

1. Rum + nutmegtop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together646 recipes

   Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

2. Milk + rumtop 12% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together967 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

3. Sugar + rumtop 14% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together2,908 recipes

   Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

4. Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together14,685 recipes

   Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

5. Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together77,875 recipes

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

Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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

Milk

Forms the liquid base and gives the drink its creamy body.

Sugar

Adds sweetness and dissolves into the warm milk.

Rum or brandy

Adds alcohol flavour and a warm aroma to the drink.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, sugar, rum):

1. Cinnamonfits better
2. Nutmegthe original
3. Gingerfits about as well
4. Allspicefits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, sugar, rum. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.