Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg 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 ↓
New England Doughnuts, Etc
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Beat the eggs and mix in the sugar and sweet milk in a large bowl.
Combine the flour and baking powder in another bowl.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until combined.
Melt the lard.
Add the melted lard along with the salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the dough.
Shape and fry
Knead the dough lightly and roll it out to about ½ inch thick.
Cut into doughnut shapes and fry in hot oil 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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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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 dough and add richness and structure as they set in the frying oil.
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the gluten network that gives the doughnuts their body and chew.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the dough, helping the doughnuts rise and turn light.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the doughnuts brown evenly in the hot oil.
- Lard
- Adds fat that tenderizes the dough and gives a rich flavor.
The step that matters
Fry in hot oil until golden brown. If the oil is too cool, doughnuts absorb excess oil and turn greasy and heavy; if too hot, the outside browns before the centre cooks through. Steady oil temperature gives a cooked, light interior.
“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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