Why it works: Nutmeg and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,318 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Claret Cup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Put into a bowl three bottles of soda water and one bottle of claret.
Pare a lemon very thin and grate a nutmeg.
Make the syrup
Add to these, in a jug, one pound of loaf sugar, and pour over them one pint of boiling water.
When cold, strain and mix with the wine and soda water.
Finish
A little lemon juice may be added.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| 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.
-
Nutmeg + lemontop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + nutmegtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together23,364 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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
- Loaf sugar
- Dissolves in the hot water to make a syrup that sweetens the drink.
- Claret
- Provides the wine base and its flavour to the drink.
- Soda water
- Adds carbonation, giving the cup a light, lively fizz.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the sweetness of the wine and sugar.
The step that matters
Letting the syrup cool before mixing. Adding hot syrup to the wine and soda water would drive off carbonation and warm the drink, so the syrup should be cold before it is strained and mixed in.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, lemon):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Gingerfits better
- Marjoramfits about as well
- Nutmegthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, lemon. 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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