Why it works: Rhubarb and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 177 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Rhubarb Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Remove the thin skin from the rhubarb and cut the stalks into small pieces.
Add a little flour to the rhubarb and place it in the pie crust.
Mix sugar and butter thoroughly with the rhubarb.
Cover with the top crust and serve warm.
Grate a little nutmeg over the top of the fruit before placing on the crust 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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Rhubarb + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together177 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Rhubarb + flourtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together670 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
Swap the nutmeg
The recipe marks nutmeg as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rhubarb, flour, sugar, butter):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegthe original
- Capersfits about as well
- Jalapenofits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against rhubarb, flour, sugar, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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