Name: Cheesy Potatoes and Apples Au Gratin
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 2 cloves Garlic, Peeled; 4 pounds Potatoes, Peeled And Thinly Sliced; 3 Small Apples, Peeled, Cored And Sliced About 1/4 Inch Thick; 1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt; 1-½ teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper; ½ teaspoons Ground Nutmeg; 3 cups Heavy Cream; 2 cups Shredded Sharp White Cheddar Cheese; 2 ounces, weight Prosciutto Cubes

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 ↓

Cheesy Potatoes and Apples Au Gratin

Serves 8

Prep25 min

Cook1 hr 30 min

Ingredients

2 cloves Garlic, Peeled
4 pounds Potatoes, Peeled And Thinly Sliced
3 Small Apples, Peeled, Cored And Sliced About 1/4 Inch Thick
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
1-½ teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
½ teaspoons Ground Nutmeg
3 cups Heavy Cream
2 cups Shredded Sharp White Cheddar Cheese
2 ounces, weight Prosciutto Cubes

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

442Calories

13 gProtein

16 gFat

66 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Apple	1 medium (182g)	95
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By tastykitchen. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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).
Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Clove + appletop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,774 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together13,015 recipes

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

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

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (clove, garlic, potato, pepper, nutmeg, cream, cheddar cheese):

Limefits better
Avocadofits better
Lemonfits better
Applethe original

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

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.