London Syllabub

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.

1. Nutmeg + milktop 15% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together14,685 recipes

   Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

2. White wine + milktop 17% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together929 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).

3. White wine + nutmegtop 17% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together1,659 recipes

   Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).

4. Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together77,875 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

5. Nutmeg + sugartop 20% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together23,364 recipes

   Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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

Port or white wine

Its acidity curdles the milk into light, set curds, giving syllabub its characteristic texture.

Milk

Forms the bulk of the dish; when frothed and combined with acid it becomes the airy, curdled body.

Sugar

Adds sweetness to balance the sharpness of the wine.

The step that matters

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (white wine, sugar, milk):

1. Cinnamonfits better
2. Nutmegthe original
3. Gingerfits about as well
4. Clovefits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against white wine, sugar, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.