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Drink

Cat's Acapulco

A cocktail made with light rum, triple sec, lime juice, sugar, egg white, and mint.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Lime and mint match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 846 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Cat's Acapulco

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine and shake all ingredients, except mint, with ice.

  2. Strain into an old fashioned glass over ice cubes.

  3. Add the sprig of mint and serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

170Calories
7 gProtein
5 gFat
17 gCarbs

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
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Rum1/2 oz (15ml)32
Limejuice of 1 lime (44ml)11
Peppermintnot in our table0

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).

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.

  1. Lime + minttop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together846 recipes

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

  2. Rum + minttop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together139 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Rum + limetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together412 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  4. Rum + sugartop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,908 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Light rum
Provides the spirit base and main body of the drink.
Egg white
Adds body and a silky, frothy texture when shaken with ice.
Lime juice
Adds acidity that balances the sweetness and spirit.
Triple sec
Adds orange sweetness and aroma to the drink.
Sugar
Adds sweetness that balances the lime's acidity.

The step that matters

Shaking with ice. Shaking the egg white hard with ice chills and dilutes the drink while aerating the egg white into a stable foam. Too little shaking leaves the egg white flat and the drink warm and harsh.

Swap the mint

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rum, lime, sugar, egg):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Nutmegfits better
  3. Gingerfits about as well
  4. Mintthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rum, lime, sugar, 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.

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