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Fondue

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Nutmeg and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 13,015 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Fondue

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Rub the inside of a fondue pot with garlic.

  2. Add cheese and wine to the pot.

  3. Heat gently, stirring until melted and smooth.

  4. Mix cornstarch with a little wine and stir into the cheese mixture.

  5. Season with nutmeg and pepper.

  6. Serve warm with bread for dipping.

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.

  1. Nutmeg + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together13,015 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,090 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Wine + garlictop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together5,790 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  4. Garlic + nutmegtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,630 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Cheese + winetop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together651 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cheese, wine, garlic, pepper):

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Rosemaryfits better
  3. Oreganofits better
  4. Nutmegthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cheese, wine, garlic, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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