Why it works: Nutmeg and orange match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,746 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Apple Tart with Quince
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Line the tartlet-moulds with short-paste.
Pound the filberts in a mortar with water to prevent oiliness.
Mix in butter, sugar, white noyau, and egg yolks until well combined.
Fill the tartlet-moulds with the mixture and bake until done.
Remove from moulds and place on a clean baking sheet.
Mix glazing-sugar with white noyau to form a thick icing.
Glaze the tartlets with the icing and let them dry.
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 + orangetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,746 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Filbert + buttertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together52 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together24,377 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Egg + nutmegtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked 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
Swap the filbert
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, nutmeg, orange):
- Almondfits better
- Pistachiofits better
- Walnutfits better
- Filbertthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, nutmeg, orange. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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