Why it works: Lemon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,318 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Fine Milk Punch
Ingredients
Directions
Pare off the yellow rind of four large lemons and steep it for twenty-four hours in a quart of brandy or rum.
Mix the steeped rind with the juice of the lemons, a pound and a half of loaf sugar, two grated nutmegs and a quart of water.
Add a quart of rich unskimmed milk, made boiling hot, and strain the whole through a jelly-bag.
Use the punch as soon as it is cold, or make a larger quantity in the same proportions and bottle it.
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 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Brandy | not in our table | 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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Brandy + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,311 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
-
Brandy + milktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,738 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Brandy
- Provides the spirit base and carries the lemon and nutmeg aromas.
- Rich unskimmed milk
- Adds body and creaminess, and its proteins curdle with the acid to clarify the punch.
- Lemons
- Supply acidity that balances the sugar and curdles the milk when combined.
- Loaf sugar (in the method)
- Adds sweetness to balance the acid and the alcohol.
- Nutmegs
- Contribute warm aromatic flavour.
The step that matters
Adding the boiling milk. Hot milk poured into acidic lemon punch curdles, and the curds trap particles as they settle. Straining through a jelly-bag then removes them, leaving a clear punch. Milk added cold or too early may not clarify as well.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (brandy, milk, nutmeg):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Raisinfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against brandy, milk, 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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