Why it works: Mace and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,557 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓
Celery Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Wash and pare a large bunch of celery, very clean, and cut it into little bits.
Boil it softly till it is tender.
Add half a pint of cream, some mace, nutmeg, and a small piece of butter rolled in flour.
Boil it gently.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Celery | 1 stalk (40g) | 6 |
| 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.
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.
-
Mace + nutmegtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,557 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Celery + nutmegtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,331 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Celery
- Forms the main body of the sauce and gives it its vegetable flavour when softened.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, silky body to the sauce.
- Butter
- Adds fat and flavour, and helps the sauce feel smooth.
- Flour
- Thickens the sauce as it heats, giving it body.
The step that matters
Boil it gently after adding the cream, butter and flour. Flour thickens liquid only as it heats, and it needs a gentle boil to cook out its raw taste. A hard boil can scorch the cream on the pan base or make the sauce separate.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (celery, cream, butter, flour, nutmeg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Parsleyfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against celery, cream, butter, flour, 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.
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