Why it works: Apple and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,790 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Apple Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Pare and cut the apples, removing the cores.
Place them in a saucepan with the sugar, butter, and water.
Stew until soft and reduced to a pulp.
If too moist, pour away excess water.
Beat to a smooth pulp and serve hot.
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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Apple + nutmegtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,790 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Apple + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,706 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together24,377 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Apple + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Apple and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 16,478 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
- Apples
- Break down into the pulp that forms the body of the sauce.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a richer, rounder mouthfeel.
- Moist sugar
- Adds sweetness and a slight caramel note that balances the tart apples.
- Nutmeg
- Adds a warm aroma to the sauce.
The step that matters
Stew until soft and reduced to a pulp. Apples release a lot of water as they cook. Stewing gently until they soften breaks down their cell walls into a pulp, and evaporating the excess water sets the texture. If the sauce stays too wet, it will be thin, and if it is cooked too hard it can scorch on the bottom of the pan.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (apple, butter, sugar):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegthe original
- Clovefits about as well
- Gingerfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against apple, butter, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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