Why it works: Flour and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,623 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Spätzle
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Stir flour, eggs, salt, and 1/2 cup of water.
Beat until batter is smooth and no longer adheres to the spoon.
Add water as needed.
The spaetzle dough can be firm enough to be rolled and cut into slivers or soft enough to be forced through a sieve, colander or spaetzle-maker with large holes.
Cook the noodles
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
If you have a Spätzle press, press the dough through the press and into the boiling water.
If you do not have a press, place dough on cutting board and roll out. Cut dough into tiny noodles.
Add noodles to boiling water.
They cook quickly and are done when they float back to the surface.
As the noodles finish cooking, remove them with a slotted spoon.
Serve
You can sauté the noodles in a tablespoon of butter before serving.
Other suggestions: serve with a brown gravy or beef stock.
If you don't want to use the egg yolks, use the egg whites and add some yellow food coloring for a nice color.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
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.
-
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Egg + nutmegtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together24,744 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Flour
- Forms the batter's structure once hydrated and gives the noodles their body.
- Eggs
- Bind the dough and add richness, helping the noodles hold their shape when cooked.
- Cold water
- Hydrates the flour to set the dough's consistency, from firm to soft.
The step that matters
Beating the batter until smooth. Beating develops gluten in the flour and helps the batter hold together, so the dough forms noodles that hold their shape rather than falling apart in the water.
Swap the nutmeg
The recipe marks nutmeg as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, egg):
- Jalapenofits better
- Capersfits about as well
- Nutmegthe original
- Turmericfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, egg. 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.
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe 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.