Why it works: Nutmeg and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 13,015 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
A Salmon Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Assemble the salad
Garnish salmon with cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika.
Add a few drops of chili vinegar and slices of hard-boiled egg.
Make the sauce
Make sauce by mixing yolks of three eggs, juice of a lemon, salt, red pepper, a pinch of grated nutmeg, three tablespoonfuls of butter and half a cupful of water.
Stir over the fire until thick.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| 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.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
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.
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Nutmeg + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together13,015 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together24,377 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Nutmeg + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together24,744 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Nutmeg and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 24,744 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
- Eggs
- Yolks thicken the sauce as they set with gentle heat, giving it body.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, giving the sauce a smooth, silky texture.
- Lemon juice (in the method)
- Adds acidity that brightens the sauce and balances the richness of butter and yolks.
The step that matters
Stir the sauce over the fire until thick. Egg yolks thicken as their proteins set with heat. Too much heat or too little stirring can scramble them into lumps, so keep the heat gentle and stir constantly.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, egg, pepper, vinegar):
- Tarragonfits better
- Parsleyfits better
- Dillfits about as well
- Nutmegthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, egg, pepper, vinegar. 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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