Why it works: Cinnamon and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,655 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓
Arrow-Root Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Make the jelly
Mix the arrow-root powder with enough cold water to form a paste.
Pour in the boiling water and stir briskly.
Boil for a few minutes until it becomes a clear, smooth jelly.
Flavour and serve
For adults, add a little sugar and sherry wine.
For infants, add a drop or two of essence of carraway seeds or cinnamon instead.
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 + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sherry + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,479 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
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Wine + cinnamontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,170 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
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Sherry + cinnamontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together649 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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 powder
- Thickens the boiling water into a clear, smooth jelly as its starch swells and sets on cooling.
The step that matters
Make a smooth paste before adding the boiling water. Arrowroot powder clumps if poured directly into hot liquid. Mixing it first with cold water separates the granules so they hydrate evenly and thicken without lumps.
“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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