Why it works: Nutmeg and lemon 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 ↓
Wine Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the wine
In a saucepan, bring the white wine to a boil.
Make the sauce
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until light.
Gradually add the nutmeg or lemon peel and flour, mixing until smooth.
Slowly pour the boiling wine into the egg mixture while stirring constantly.
Return the mixture to the saucepan and stir until it thickens.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg white until stiff and fold it into the sauce.
Remove from heat immediately.
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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Nutmeg + lemontop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Nutmeg + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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White wine + lemontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,832 recipes
Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the sauce as they heat, giving it a smooth, custard-like body.
- Egg white
- Beaten until stiff and folded in, it lightens the sauce's texture.
- Flour
- Stabilises the custard so it thickens without curdling.
- White wine
- Provides the main liquid and acidity that flavours the sauce.
- White sugar
- Sweetens the sauce and balances the acidity of the wine and lemon.
The step that matters
Return the mixture to the saucepan and stir until it thickens. Egg yolks set at a gentle heat and can curdle if overheated, so the sauce should be stirred constantly over low heat and removed as soon as it thickens.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (white wine, sugar, nutmeg, flour, egg):
- Raisinfits better
- Lemonthe original
- Vanillafits about as well
- Figfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against white wine, sugar, nutmeg, flour, egg. 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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