Why it works: Pepper and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 13,015 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Fish Quenelles {Quenelles De Poisson Au Nid}
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare a fish mixture using white fish.
Boil the eggs until hard, then mash the yolks with butter and cream or white sauce.
Season the mixture with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
Line small egg molds with aspic cream and let it set.
Fill the molds with the fish mixture, creating a well in the center.
Add a small amount of the egg mixture into each well.
Close the molds and chill them on ice.
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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Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together13,015 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Fish + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,488 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,920 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together24,377 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, egg, butter, cream, pepper):
- Nutmegthe original
- Parsleyfits about as well
- Tarragonfits about as well
- Capersfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against fish, egg, butter, cream, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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