Why it works: Lemon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,318 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Potato Fritters
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the batter
Boil the potatoes and scrape them finely.
Beat the egg yolks and egg whites together.
Add cream, sweet wine, lemon juice, and nutmeg to the eggs.
Beat the batter for 30 minutes.
Fry and serve
Heat lard in a pan and add butter.
Drop spoonfuls of batter into the hot fat and fry until golden brown.
Serve hot with a sauce made of white wine, lemon juice, peach or almond water, and melted sugar.
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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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Potato + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,052 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Potato + lemontop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,230 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,920 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Provide the starchy bulk that gives the fritters their soft, tender body.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and help bind the batter while contributing to a tender interior.
- Egg whites
- Whipped air and structure lighten the batter and help the fritters rise when fried.
- Butter
- Adds flavour and helps the fritters brown in the frying fat.
The step that matters
Frying the batter in hot fat. If the lard is not hot enough, the batter absorbs fat and turns greasy instead of forming a crisp golden crust. Spoonfuls dropped into properly hot fat seal quickly and cook through without falling apart.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, cream, wine, lemon, nutmeg, butter):
- Shallotfits about as well
- Spinachfits about as well
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, cream, wine, lemon, nutmeg, butter. 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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