Why it works: Milk and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,685 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Arrow-root
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the arrow-root with a little cold milk until smooth.
Stir the mixture into the boiling milk and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool.
If using, stir in the well-beaten eggs.
Sweeten to taste and pour into cups.
Add nutmeg if desired.
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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Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Egg + nutmegtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together24,744 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg and nutmeg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 24,744 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 milk into a smooth, set pudding as it cooks.
- Milk
- Forms the body of the pudding and carries the flavour.
- Eggs
- Add richness and help the pudding set further when stirred in.
The step that matters
Stir the arrow-root into the boiling milk. Starch needs to be fully dispersed before it hits the hot liquid, or it clumps. Mixing it smooth with cold milk first lets the starch granules separate evenly, so the pudding thickens without lumps.
Swap the nutmeg
The recipe marks nutmeg as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, egg):
- Nutmegthe original
- Cinnamonfits about as well
- Dillfits less well
- Parsleyfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, 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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