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Dessert

Nun's Butter

A sweet butter-based confection made with butter, powdered sugar, egg whites, sherry or almond extract, and nutmeg.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and sherry are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,505 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓

Nun's Butter

Ingredients

Directions

Make the spread

  1. Beat the butter until creamy.

  2. Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat until very light.

  3. Add the egg whites one at a time, beating until frothy after each addition.

  4. If using sherry, add it now; if not, add the almond extract gradually and beat once more.

Serve

  1. Heap the mixture on a small dish, sprinkle lightly with grated nutmeg, and refrigerate to harden.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Butter + sherrytop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,505 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  2. Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together24,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  3. Sherry + nutmegtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,246 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  4. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Egg + nutmegtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together24,744 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

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

Butter
Provides fat and richness, and when chilled it firms the mixture.
Powdered sugar
Adds sweetness and dissolves easily, giving a light, smooth texture.
Egg whites
Whipped into the mixture, they add airiness and body.

The step that matters

Beating in the egg whites one at a time. Adding each egg white gradually and beating until frothy lets it emulsify and trap air. Adding them all at once can cause the mixture to split or lose its light, airy texture.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, sherry):

  1. Cinnamonfits about as well
  2. Nutmegthe original
  3. Parsleyfits less well
  4. Tarragonfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, sherry. 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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