Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Drop Doughnuts
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a bowl, combine the beaten eggs and sugar.
Stir in the melted butter and milk.
Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg; mix until smooth.
Fry
Drop by teaspoonfuls into hot fat and fry until golden brown.
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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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness to the doughnuts.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that sets as the doughnuts cook.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the doughnuts rise and turn light.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the exterior brown during frying.
- Milk
- Supplies the liquid that hydrates the flour and gives the batter its moisture.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and richness in the finished doughnuts.
The step that matters
Fry the teaspoonfuls in hot fat until golden brown. If the fat is not hot enough, the batter soaks up oil and turns greasy instead of crisping. If it is too hot, the outside browns before the centre cooks through. Frying at a steady temperature gives a cooked interior and a golden crust.
“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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