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Drink

For the Sick

A warm sago milk beverage made with sago, milk, sugar, and optional vanilla or nutmeg.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Jacqueline Harrison Smith (ed.) · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 2 ingredients
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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 ↓

For the Sick

Ingredients

Directions

Soak the sago

  1. Mash ½ oz. of sago and soak it in a teacupful of cold water for an hour or more.

  2. Drain the soaked sago and add 3 gills of good milk.

Simmer and sweeten

  1. Put the mixture over the fire and let it simmer until the sago is entirely incorporated with the milk.

  2. Sweeten it with white sugar.

  3. Optionally flavor with vanilla or nutmeg, if allowed by the physician.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

161Calories
8 gProtein
9 gFat
13 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Nutmeg1 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.

By Jacqueline Harrison Smith (ed.). Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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.

  1. Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,685 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Sago (in the method)
Starch that swells and thickens the milk as it heats, giving the pudding its body.
Milk
Liquid base that gives the dish its creamy, rich texture and dairy flavor.
White sugar (in the method)
Adds sweetness to balance the mild, plain flavor of the milk and sago.

The step that matters

Simmer until the sago is fully incorporated. Sago starch must be heated long enough to gelatinise and soften through the grain. If it is undercooked, small firm specks remain and the texture turns gritty. Stirring keeps the starch from settling and scorching on the base of the pan.

“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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