Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg 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 ↓
Posset
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the milk and bread
Bring the milk to a boil with the cinnamon stick in a wide-mouthed kettle.
Place the slice of bread on top of the boiling milk.
Let the bread boil for 1–2 minutes.
Remove the pot from heat.
Let the bread soften.
Combine and serve
In a bowl, combine the ale or wine with nutmeg and sugar.
Bring the milk to a boil again.
Lift out the bread and place it in the bowl with the ale or wine.
Gently pour the boiling milk over the bread.
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.
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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Cinnamon + sugartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Bread + nutmegtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,997 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Cinnamon and sugar 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
- Milk
- Forms the body of the posset and sets into a soft, creamy custard when curdled.
- Bread
- Absorbs the warm milk and liquor, giving the posset a soft, spongy texture.
- Ale or wine
- Its acidity curdles the hot milk, thickening it and adding a sharp, tart flavour.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the acidity of the ale or wine.
- Nutmeg
- Adds a warm, aromatic spice flavour.
- Cinnamon
- Infuses the milk with a warm, sweet spice aroma.
The step that matters
Gently pour the boiling milk over the bread. Pouring slowly and gently lets the hot milk meet the acid in the ale or wine and curdle into soft, set curds. Pouring roughly breaks the curds into a grainy, uneven texture.
“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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