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Eatifia of Walnuts

A walnut and spice infusion steeped in brandy for two months, then strained and filtered.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Eatifia of Walnuts

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Crush the green walnuts and place them in a jar.

  2. Add the brandy, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and grated nutmeg.

  3. Cover the jar tightly and let it steep for two months, shaking it occasionally.

  4. After two months, strain and filter the mixture for use.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

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. Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  3. Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,686 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Walnut + nutmegtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,230 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  5. Walnut + cinnamontop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,147 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

Green walnuts
Provide the main flavour and bitter, astringent notes that infuse into the brandy.
Brandy
Acts as the solvent that extracts flavour from the walnuts and spices over time.
Sugar
Adds sweetness that balances the bitterness of the walnuts and spices.
Cinnamon
Adds warm, sweet aroma that infuses into the brandy during steeping.
Cloves
Contribute a strong, warm aroma and pungent spice flavour to the infusion.

The step that matters

Cover the jar tightly and steep. Alcohol extracts flavour slowly, so the jar must be sealed to keep the brandy from evaporating and the steep needs its full time to develop depth. Shaking helps distribute the sugar and spices evenly.

Swap the walnut

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (brandy, sugar, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg):

  1. Almondfits better
  2. Chestnutfits better
  3. Pistachiofits about as well
  4. Walnutthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against brandy, sugar, cinnamon, clove, 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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