Why it works: Egg and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 24,744 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Wine Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the cornstarch base
Wet the cornstarch in cold water.
Stir the wet cornstarch into the boiling water.
Boil for 10 minutes.
Prepare the creamed mixture
In a separate bowl, cream together the Cottolene and powdered sugar.
Add the beaten egg and grated nutmeg to the creamed mixture.
Combine and finish
After the cornstarch has cooked for 10 minutes, add the wine.
Pour the boiling mixture into the egg mixture and stir rapidly until thoroughly blended.
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.
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.
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Egg + nutmegtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together24,744 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Sugar + nutmegtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together23,364 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Nutmeg + winetop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,356 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Sugar + winetop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together9,581 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Egg and nutmeg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 24,744 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
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the liquid into a smooth sauce as it cooks in boiling water.
- Cottolene or vegetable shortening
- Creams with the sugar to give the sauce a soft, rich body.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the sauce and dissolves easily into the creamed fat.
- Egg
- Adds richness and helps bind the sauce as it blends with the hot mixture.
- Wine
- Adds acidity and fruity flavor to the sauce.
The step that matters
Pour the boiling mixture into the egg mixture and stir rapidly. Pouring hot starch into the egg can cause the egg to scramble or curdle in lumps. Stirring rapidly spreads the heat evenly so the sauce blends smooth and stays creamy.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, wine):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegthe original
- Tarragonfits less well
- Gingerfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, wine. 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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