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 ↓
Waffles
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
In a bowl, combine warm milk and butter.
Mix in beaten eggs, nutmeg, crushed sugar, and enough flour to form a stiff paste.
Add yeast and let rise in a warm place for 2-3 hours.
Gently work the dough and let it rise for another 30 minutes.
Cook and serve
Preheat and grease the waffle iron.
Pour 2 tablespoons of batter into the iron, close it, and bake for a few minutes until light in color.
Dust with caster sugar mixed with cinnamon and serve.
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.
-
Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Nutmeg + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the batter, setting into the crisp framework of the waffle.
- Yeast
- Produces gas during the long rise, leavening the batter so it becomes light and airy.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, helping bind the batter and set during baking.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and flavour, and helps the waffles brown.
- Milk
- Provides moisture and hydrates the flour, and warmth helps the yeast activate.
The step that matters
Letting the yeast dough rise. Yeast needs a warm place and enough time to produce gas. Rising too briefly leaves the waffles dense, while the dough must be fully hydrated and at room warmth for proper leavening.
“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.
More waffles recipes
You might also like
Rice Gruel28 recipes
Peptoned Milk Gruel9 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.