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 ↓
Ale Punch
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, combine the mild ale, sherry, brandy, icing sugar, lemon peel, lemon juice, and grated nutmeg.
Add a small piece of ice.
Serve in small tumblers.
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.
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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Sherry + brandytop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,209 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Brandy + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,311 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Sherry + nutmegtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,246 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Sherry + lemontop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,273 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mild ale
- Forms the liquid base and provides most of the drink's body and flavour.
- Sherry
- Adds dry, nutty depth and some alcohol to the punch.
- Brandy
- Adds warmth and strength, rounding out the sweet and sour notes.
- Icing sugar
- Sweetens the punch evenly, since it dissolves readily in liquid.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the drink and balances the sweetness.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sherry, brandy, sugar, nutmeg):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Apricotfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sherry, brandy, sugar, 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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