Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Mulled Wine
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Boil the spices in the water with the sugar until it forms a thick syrup, being careful not to burn it.
Warm and serve
Pour the wine into the saucepan and stir gently until it is just about to boil.
Serve hot, adding a thin shaving of orange to enhance the flavor 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.
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 + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,038 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + orangetop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,437 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Ginger + orangetop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,833 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Port wine
- Forms the main body of the drink and carries its flavor.
- Mixed spices
- Supply the aroma and warm flavor that define mulled wine.
- Powdered sugar
- Adds sweetness and, when boiled with the spices, thickens into a syrup.
The step that matters
Boiling the spice syrup. Sugar darkens and turns bitter if it burns, and scorched sugar spoils the flavor of the whole drink. Keep the heat moderate and stir so the syrup thickens without catching on the pan.
Swap the orange
The recipe marks orange as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (port wine, cinnamon, clove, ginger, sugar):
- Figfits about as well
- Pearfits about as well
- Orangethe original
- Vanillafits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against port wine, cinnamon, clove, ginger, sugar. 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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