Why it works: Nutmeg and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
A Very Fine Somersetshire Syllabub
Ingredients
Directions
Make the base
In a large bowl, combine the port and sherry.
Add sugar to taste.
Fill the bowl with milk.
Top and garnish
After 20 minutes, top with clotted cream.
Grate nutmeg over the cream.
Sprinkle pounded cinnamon and nonpareil confections on top.
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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Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Port wine + sherrytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together132 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Milk + cinnamontop 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).
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
- Port wine
- Adds sweetness, body and a rich fortified flavour to the base.
- Sherry
- Adds acidity and dryness that balances the sweetness of the port and sugar.
- Clotted cream
- Adds richness and a thick, fatty topping that softens the drink's tang.
The step that matters
Fill the bowl with milk. The wine is acidic and the milk must be added so it curdles into a soft, thick layer rather than mixing into a thin drink. Adding milk gently and letting the mixture stand allows the curds to separate and set on top.
“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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