Why it works: Milk and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,685 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Delicious Trifle
Ingredients
Directions
Cut up stale sponge cakes in dish, spread over with jam (raspberry preferred), then make a pint custard, (as per direction for Custard), and pour when cooked over the cakes. Let stand till cold, then spread whipped cream on top. This dish is improved by adding a little sherry or wine to the cut sponges.
EGG DRINK (Without Eggs).
Two large cups of milk; take sufficient to mix smooth 1 heaped teaspoon of Edmonds’ Custard Powder. Place remainder in saucepan with 2 teaspoonfuls sugar; when it boils add mixture, stir and place immediately into glasses (grate nutmeg on top to taste).
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
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.
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Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + nutmegtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together23,364 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, milk):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegthe original
- Gingerfits about as well
- Clovefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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