Eggnog

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. Lime + spirittop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together53 recipes

   Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

2. Egg + milktop 18% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together88,785 recipes

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

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

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

4. Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together122,807 recipes

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

5. Sugar + spirittop 25% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together602 recipes

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

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

Egg yolk

Adds richness and creaminess, and helps bind the drink smoothly.

Egg white

Beaten separately, it adds a light, airy texture to the drink.

Milk

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

Sugar

Adds sweetness and balances the richness of the egg and milk.

Swap the lime

The recipe marks lime as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, milk, sugar, spirit):

1. Vanillafits better
2. Figfits better
3. Applefits better
4. Limethe original

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