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 ↓
Potato Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the mixture
Boil and peel the potatoes.
Pound the potatoes in a bowl with the fresh butter.
Add the beaten egg yolks and egg whites, mixing well.
Stir in the pounded sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and spirits.
Bake and serve
Pour the mixture into a buttered dish and bake at 350°F (175°C) until set.
Turn out the pudding before serving and sprinkle with grated sugar.
Serve with a sweet sauce if desired.
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).
-
Potato + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,052 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Potato + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,012 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
-
Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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
- Potatoes
- Provide the bulk and body of the pudding, giving it a soft, tender crumb.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving the pudding a smooth, tender texture.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the custard and help the pudding set as it bakes.
- Egg whites
- Add lift and structure, helping the pudding set into a light body.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and promotes gentle browning on the surface.
The step that matters
Bake until set. Egg proteins coagulate as the pudding heats, so pulling it too early leaves it wet and loose, while overbaking makes it dry and rubbery. Watch for a firm centre before turning it out.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, egg, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, spirit):
- Sweet potatofits better
- Arrowrootfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, egg, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, spirit. 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.
More potato pudding recipes
You might also like
Deep-Fried Potato Balls119 recipes
Orange Potato Bread80 recipes
Cinnamon Rolls71 recipes
Cinnamon Cake42 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.