Name: Malin Estate Apple Delight
Ingredients: 8 medium winesap apples; 1-cup water; 2 cups granulated sugar; 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; ¼ teaspoon red food coloring; 1-teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/8-teaspoon ground nutmeg; Custard; Apricot Rum Filling

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 ↓

Malin Estate Apple Delight

Ingredients

Directions

Wash, core and peel apples reserving some of peel.
Make sure center of apple is open from bottom to top.
Combine water, sugar, lemon juice, food coloring, spices and reserved apple peel in a large skillet and bring to rapid boil over high heat.
Stir until sugar is dissolved.
Place apples in skillet, reduce heat to medium and cook 20 minutes.
Turn apples over during cooking.
Remove apples to large platter to drain while preparing Custard.
Fill with Apricot Rum Filling.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

223Calories

2 gProtein

1 gFat

48 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Apple	1 medium (182g)	95
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Rum	1/2 oz (15ml)	32
Apricot	1 medium (35g)	17
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
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.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

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.

Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,917 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Apple + apricottop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together777 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-undecalactone (peach, sweet).
Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,598 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,318 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Lemon + cinnamontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together7,950 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (apple, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, apricot, rum):

Vanillafits better
Figfits better
Pearfits better
Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against apple, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, apricot, rum. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.