Why it works: Nutmeg and cinnamon 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 ↓
Rich Mince Meat
Ingredients
Directions
Chop the ox tongue very fine.
Chop the apples fine and add them to the tongue.
In a pot, combine the sugar with the water or fruit juice and bring to a boil.
Skim off any foam from the top and let it stand for a few minutes.
Carefully pour the syrup into a pan with the other ingredients, avoiding any sediment.
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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Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Raisin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,598 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, sugar, apple, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, lemon):
- Orangefits better
- Figfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, sugar, apple, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, lemon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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