Why it works: Tea and nutmeg work together. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 202 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Every-day Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Bring one pint of water to a boil.
Add a heaping tea-cup of sugar, a tablespoon of butter, a pinch of salt, and a tablespoon of corn starch dissolved in cold water.
Season with nutmeg or vanilla.
Boil for half an hour, until clear.
Optional finishes
(Optional) To a tablespoon of currant jelly, add a tablespoon of hot water, beat well, and add to the sauce just before serving, omitting all other flavorings.
(Optional) Add a teaspoon of raspberry syrup, or two tablespoons of vinegar.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
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
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| 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.
-
Tea + nutmegtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together202 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Sugar + nutmegtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together23,364 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
-
Tea + vinegartop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together175 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Vinegar + nutmegtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,864 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Sugar and nutmeg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 23,364 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
- Sugar
- Provides sweetness and, with the starch, gives the sauce its body.
- Corn starch (in the method)
- Thickens the liquid as it boils and turns it clear and glossy.
- Butter (in the method)
- Adds fat for a richer mouthfeel and smoother finish.
The step that matters
Dissolve the corn starch in cold water before adding it. Starch added directly to hot liquid clumps instead of dispersing. Mixing it into cold water first lets the granules separate, so the sauce thickens evenly as it boils.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tea, sugar, vinegar):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Gingerfits better
- Peppermintfits better
- Nutmegthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tea, sugar, 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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