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 ↓
A Rice Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the rice base
Combine 2 quarts of water, 1 pound of rice, and 1 stick of cinnamon in a pot.
Cover and simmer gently until the rice is tender.
Remove the cinnamon stick and sweeten the mixture to taste.
Grate ½ nutmeg into the mixture and let it cool.
Add the egg and wine and finish
Beat 3 egg yolks with ½ pint of white wine in a bowl.
Mix the egg and wine mixture into the rice.
Place the pot on low heat, stirring constantly to prevent curdling.
Cook until the soup thickens and begins to boil.
Continue stirring until ready to 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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Rice + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,137 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Rice + nutmegtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,779 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Cinnamon + sugartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Nutmeg + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together24,744 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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
- Rice
- Starch that softens during simmering and thickens the soup body.
- Egg yolks
- Proteins that set on gentle heat, thickening the soup and giving it richness.
- White wine
- Adds acidity and aroma, brightening the flavour of the soup.
The step that matters
Adding the egg and wine mixture to the rice. Egg yolks scramble if they get too hot too fast. Keeping the heat low and stirring constantly lets the proteins thicken the soup smoothly instead of curdling it.
“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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