Why it works: Clove and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,686 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Apple Puddixg
Ingredients
Directions
Line and fill
Line a well buttered basin with the paste.
Reserve a piece of paste for the cover.
Fill the basin with cored apples cut into pieces.
Add minced lemon peel or cloves as desired.
Cover and boil
Cover the basin with the reserved paste.
Pinch the paste all around the basin.
Tie in a floured cloth.
Boil for 1 to 1.5 hours, depending on size.
Serve
Carefully turn the pudding onto a hot dish.
Cut a small piece from the top for steam to escape.
Add a piece of butter into the opening.
Add a small amount of sugar into the opening.
Add grated nutmeg into the opening.
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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Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Apple + clovetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,774 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Lemon + clovetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,150 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Apple + nutmegtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,790 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cored apples
- Provide the bulk of the filling, softening as they cook and turning tender and moist.
- Paste
- Forms an enclosing crust that holds the apples and steam during boiling.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a silky mouthfeel to the filling when melted into the opening.
- Moist or pounded sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps balance the tartness of the apples.
- Minced fresh lemon peel
- Adds bright aromatic oils that lift the flavour of the apples.
The step that matters
Tie in a floured cloth. The cloth must be tied snugly so the pudding keeps its shape and water cannot seep in during boiling. A floured surface helps the cloth release cleanly from the crust.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lemon, clove, butter, sugar, nutmeg):
- Orangefits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lemon, clove, butter, 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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