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Dessert

Arrow-root Blanc-mange

A sweet, thickened dessert made from arrowroot, sugar, sherry, and nutmeg.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Sherry and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,246 recipes. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. The science ↓

Arrow-root Blanc-mange

Ingredients

Directions

Make the blancmange

  1. Blend the arrow-root with a small amount of cold water.

  2. Pour the mixture into the boiling water.

  3. Stir steadily until thick and transparent.

  4. Remove from heat and stir in sugar to taste.

  5. Add sherry and mix well.

Serve

  1. Pour into a glass and grate nutmeg on top.

  2. Set aside to cool; it will firm up as it cools.

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. Sherry + nutmegtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,246 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  2. Sugar + nutmegtop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together23,364 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

  3. Wine + nutmegtop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,356 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Sugar + sherrytop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together4,141 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Sugar + winetop 31% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together9,581 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Sugar and nutmeg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 23,364 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

Arrow-root
Thickens the boiling water into a smooth, glossy, set custard-like gel as it cooks and cools.
Sherry wine
Adds a sharp, aromatic flavour that balances the sweetness of the sugar.
Sugar
Sweetens the blancmange to taste.

The step that matters

Stirring steadily until thick and transparent. Starch must be stirred as it heats so it does not clump or scorch, and it thickens and turns clear once the starch granules swell and gelatinize. Stopping too early leaves it thin and cloudy.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, sherry, wine):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Clovefits better
  4. Nutmegthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, sherry, 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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