Why it works: Nutmeg and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Wine Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the gelatin
Soak the gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes.
Add boiling water and stir until dissolved.
Make the jelly
Mix in the wine, sugar, and spices.
Beat the egg whites until stiff and stir into the mixture.
Heat gently on a slow fire, stirring until it boils, then remove from heat.
Strain and clarify
Let it stand for 1 minute, then strain through a jelly bag.
Return the first liquid that comes through until it runs clear.
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 + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Lemon + cinnamontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,950 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Gelatin
- Sets the liquid into a firm, sliceable jelly as it cools.
- Wine
- Provides the main flavor and most of the liquid in the jelly.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the tartness of the wine and lemon.
- Egg whites
- Trap cloudy particles when heated so the strained jelly runs clear.
- Lemon
- Adds acidity and brightness to balance the sugar.
The step that matters
Returning the first liquid through the jelly bag. The first liquid to pass through the bag is often cloudy with particles that the egg whites have caught. Returning it to the bag filters it again, so the jelly sets clear instead of murky.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (gelatin, wine, sugar, egg, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits about as well
- Figfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against gelatin, wine, sugar, egg, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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