Why it works: Almond and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,115 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Cream Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Heat the milk to scalding.
Mix the cornstarch with a little cold water to form a slurry.
Add the cornstarch mixture to the hot milk and stir until thickened.
Finish and hold
Gently fold in the whipped egg whites and then add the almond extract and nutmeg.
Remove from heat and place in a bowl over boiling water to keep warm without cooking.
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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Almond + nutmegtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,115 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Milk + almondtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,800 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Egg + nutmegtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together24,744 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the milk into a smooth sauce as its starch swells when heated.
- Egg whites
- Whipped stiff and folded in, they add lightness and a foamy, airy texture.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the sauce and carries the thickening and flavour.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the flavour of the milk and almond.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whipped whites hold air that gives lightness, and they deflate if stirred hard. Fold gently and keep the sauce warm without boiling, so the eggs do not scramble or cook into lumps.
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, sugar, egg, nutmeg):
- Almondthe original
- Chestnutfits about as well
- Walnutfits about as well
- Milletfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, sugar, egg, 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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