Why it works: Flour and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,623 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Doughnuts
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
In a bowl, mix sugar, beaten egg yolks, sweet milk, and melted shortening.
Add 3 cups of flour, baking powder, and nutmeg; mix until combined.
Fold in the beaten egg whites.
Gradually add 2 more cups of flour until the dough is stiff.
Shape and fry
Roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thick and cut into shapes.
Fry in hot fat until golden brown, then drain on paper.
Serve with or without maple syrup.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Eggs
- Egg yolks and whipped whites add richness and lift to the dough.
- All-purpose flour
- Flour provides the structure that holds the dough together and sets when fried.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the dough, helping the doughnuts rise and turn light.
- Shortening
- Adds fat, giving the dough tenderness and a rich mouthfeel.
- Granulated sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the surface brown during frying.
The step that matters
Fry in hot fat until golden brown. If the fat is too cool, doughnuts absorb excess oil and turn greasy; if too hot, the outside browns before the centre cooks through.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, milk, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegthe original
- Jalapenofits less well
- Turmericfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, milk, flour. 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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