Why it works: Nutmeg and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,623 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Cream Fritters
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Combine one cup of cream, five egg whites, two full cups of prepared flour, one saltspoonful of nutmeg, and a pinch of salt.
Stir the egg whites into the cream with the flour, add the nutmeg and salt, and beat all together hard for two minutes.
The batter should be rather thick.
Fry and serve
Fry spoonfuls of batter in plenty of hot, sweet lard.
Drain the fritters and serve them on a hot, clean napkin.
Pull, not cut, them open.
Eat the fritters with jelly sauce.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| 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.
-
Nutmeg + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,920 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
-
Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Nutmeg + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together24,744 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
-
Cream + flourtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
Egg and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Eggs
- Whites trap air and set during frying, giving the fritters their light, puffed structure.
- Prepared flour
- Provides the starch and gluten framework that holds the batter together and sets when fried.
- Cream
- Adds fat and moisture, making the batter rich and tender inside.
The step that matters
Fry in plenty of hot lard. Enough hot fat heats the batter quickly so the outside sets and browns before it absorbs grease. Cool fat makes heavy, greasy fritters.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, egg, flour):
- Nutmegthe original
- Jalapenofits about as well
- Capersfits less well
- Turmericfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, egg, flour. 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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