Why it works: Sugar and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Syrup of Cloves, &C
Ingredients
Directions
In a stewpan, combine 1 quart of boiling water and ¼ pound of cloves.
Cover the pan and let it boil gently for 30 minutes.
Drain the cloves and add 2 pounds of sugar to 1 pint of the liquid.
Whisk the egg whites with a little cold water and add to the mixture.
Simmer until it thickens into a strong syrup.
Store in tightly corked vials.
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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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Clove + sugartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together17,182 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Clove + eggtop 35% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together10,584 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
Clove and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 17,182 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
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerfits better
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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