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 ↓
Roast Pig
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Have a sucking pig sent from the butcher prepared for the oven.
Wash and wipe dry.
Stuff it with plain turkey stuffing, using suet in place of butter, and season well with sage, parsley, onion juice, salt, and pepper.
Sew the opening together.
Truss all the legs forward, the hind legs close under the body.
Put a corncob in the mouth, rub all over with melted butter, and dust with pepper, salt, and flour.
Roast
Roast before a moderate fire, turning often.
If an oven roast is wanted, put in a pan, in a moderate oven, and bake from 2 to 2 hours.
Put a little salted water in the pan, and baste with this and melted butter, until there is enough dripping.
If browning too fast, rub all over with butter.
Serve
Dish on a hot platter with an apple in place of the corncob, and garnish with parsley.
Make a gravy as with other roast meat, adding a little wine.
Serve with apple sauce.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
The step that matters
Roast before a moderate fire, turning often.. A whole pig is large and uneven in thickness, so turning it often helps the heat reach all parts evenly. Basting with dripping keeps the surface moist while the skin browns, and it must be watched so it does not brown too fast.
“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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