Name: Potato Gratin, Roasted Squash with Sorghum Butter and Glazed Brussel Sprouts
Yield: 8 servings - for the Potato Gratin
Ingredients: 1 garlic clove, peeled and halved; 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened; 2 1/2 cups whole milk; 2 tablespoons minced shallots; 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt (or more to taste); 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; Dash of whole freshly grated nutmeg; 2 pounds Yukon Potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/8-inch-thick slices (use a Mandoline to do this, is you have one); 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Gruyere cheese (or more if you add some cheese to the potato and milk mixture) *Use the weight measurement; 1/2 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese *Use the weight measurement; 4 Delicata Squash; Extra Virgin olive oil; Kosher salt; Freshly ground black pepper; Leaves from two sprigs of thyme, chopped; Sorghum Butter or butter combined with brown sugar or Maple syrup; 1 pound fresh brussel sprouts, washed, trimmed and left whole or cut in half (your preference); 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt (or more to taste); freshly ground pepper, a couple of good grinds; 1 cup filtered water; 1/2 teaspoons sugar; 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter; Good splash balsamic vinegar (a nice one)

Why it works: Clove and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,686 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

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.

Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,686 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Garlic + potatotop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,517 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Garlic + shallottop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,000 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Shallot + nutmegtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,019 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

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

Swap the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (clove, butter, milk, shallot, pepper, nutmeg, potato):

Cinnamonfits better
Thymefits better
Parsleyfits better
Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against clove, butter, milk, shallot, pepper, nutmeg, potato. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Gruyere Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Maple Syrup	1 tbsp (20ml)	52
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Pumpkin	not in our table	0
Sorghum	not in our table	0
Brussel Sprouts	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0

Potato Gratin, Roasted Squash with Sorghum Butter and Glazed Brussel Sprouts