Why it works: Clove and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,686 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Apple Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the basin
Grease a basin with butter and line it with pastry dough, reserving a piece for the cover.
Fill the basin with cored apples cut into pieces, depending on the size of the basin.
Add a little minced lemon peel or 2-3 cloves, based on your preference.
Cover with the reserved pastry, pinching it securely around the edges.
Boil and serve
Tie the basin in a floured cloth and boil for 1 to 1.5 hours, depending on size.
Carefully turn the pudding onto a hot dish.
Cut a small piece from the top to let steam escape.
Add a piece of butter, a small amount of sugar, and grated nutmeg into the opening.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Apple + clovetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,774 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Lemon + clovetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,150 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Apple + nutmegtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,790 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Pastry dough
- Forms the outer crust that encloses the apples and holds the shape while boiling.
- Cored apples
- Provide the bulk of the filling, softening as they cook to a tender, moist interior.
- Butter
- Greases the basin for release and adds richness when served melted into the opening.
- Moist or pounded sugar
- Adds sweetness to the apples and the finished pudding, balancing their tartness.
The step that matters
Pinching the cover closed. A loose seal lets water into the basin during boiling, which dilutes the filling and can make the pudding soggy. Pressing the pastry firmly around the edges keeps the steam and juices inside while the apples cook through.
Swap the lemon
The recipe marks lemon as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, apple, clove, sugar, nutmeg):
- Figfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Quincefits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, apple, clove, sugar, nutmeg. 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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