Name: Caudle
Ingredients: ½ cup half-grits; sugar to taste; wine to taste; lemon-peel to taste; nutmeg to taste

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 ↓

Caudle

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the grits

Boil the half-grits in water until well cooked.
Strain the mixture to remove any solids.
Stir occasionally until the mixture cools.

Finish and serve

When ready to serve, add sugar, wine, lemon-peel, and nutmeg.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,318 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Wine + lemontop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together6,157 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together53,532 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar + nutmegtop 20% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together23,364 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Wine + nutmegtop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,356 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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

Half-grits: Starch thickens as it cooks, giving the drink body and a smooth, filling texture.
Sugar: Adds sweetness that balances the wine and spices.
Wine: Adds acidity and fruity flavor to the drink.
Lemon-peel: Its citrus oils contribute bright aroma and flavor.
Nutmeg: Contributes warm, aromatic spice notes.