Name: Sweetened Mulling Spice Mix
Yield: 2¼ cups (475 g/1.05 lb)
Ingredients: 2 cups (450 g/16 oz) sugar; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon ground cloves; 1½ teaspoons ground allspice; ½ teaspoons ground mace; ¼ teaspoons ground nutmeg

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 ↓

Sweetened Mulling Spice Mix

2¼ cups (475 g/1.05 lb)

Ingredients

2 cups (450 g/16 oz) sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1½ teaspoons ground allspice
½ teaspoons ground mace
¼ teaspoons ground nutmeg

Directions

Combine all ingredients together.
Store in an airtight container.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

79Calories

0 gProtein

1 gFat

19 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Cloves	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Allspice	1 tsp ground (1.9g)	5
Mace	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 Wikibooks Cookbook.

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.

Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,917 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,189 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together7,874 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,536 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Allspice + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,331 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

What each ingredient does

Sugar: Adds sweetness and bulk, and helps carry the warm spice flavours through the mix.
Ground cinnamon: Provides the dominant warm, sweet aroma that defines the mix.
Ground cloves: Contributes a strong, pungent aroma that gives the mix depth.
Ground allspice: Adds a blended warm aroma reminiscent of several spices together.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, cinnamon, clove, allspice, nutmeg):

Cardamomfits better
Gingerfits better
Winter savoryfits better
Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, cinnamon, clove, allspice, nutmeg. 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.