Why it works: Mace and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,257 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓
White Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the soup
Combine 4 oz. of ground almonds, 1 pint of milk, 1 pint of water, 1 oz. of vermicelli, 2 blades of mace, pepper, and salt.
Let the almonds and mace simmer in the water and milk for half an hour.
Finish and serve
Remove the mace, add pepper and salt to taste, and the vermicelli.
Let the soup cook gently until the vermicelli is soft, and serve.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 5 ingredients. The other 2 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| 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 + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,257 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Milk + macetop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,346 recipes
Shared aroma: sabinene (woody, terpenic).
-
Milk + peppertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together26,984 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Mace and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,257 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
- Ground almonds (in the method)
- Gives the soup its body and a nutty flavour as they simmer.
- Milk
- Adds creaminess and richness to the soup.
- Vermicelli (in the method)
- Softens as it cooks and thickens the soup with its starch.
- Mace
- Adds warm, aromatic flavour as it steeps in the liquid.
The step that matters
Cook the soup gently. Milk and ground almonds can scorch on the bottom of the pan or separate if the soup boils hard. A gentle simmer keeps the liquid smooth and lets the vermicelli soften evenly.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, pepper):
- Cardamomfits better
- Cinnamonfits better
- Clovefits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, pepper. 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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