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 ↓
Wine Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Melt the stock to make 1½ pints.
Dissolve gelatine in the stock according to desired stiffness.
Add sugar, lemon juice, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, wine, and beaten egg.
Stir continuously on the stove until it boils, then boil for only a few seconds.
Strain through a flannel bag.
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.
-
Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
-
Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Lemon + cinnamontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,950 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Gelatine
- Sets the liquid into a jelly; more gelatine gives a firmer result.
- Egg
- Helps clarify the liquid as it heats, so it strains clear.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps give the jelly body.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the sugar.
- Wine
- Supplies the main flavour and some acidity to the jelly.
The step that matters
Boil only briefly after stirring. Stirring constantly while heating keeps the egg from setting in lumps and helps it clarify the liquid. Boiling only a few seconds avoids over-cooking the egg and cloudy or cooked-tasting results, and the gelatine can weaken if overheated.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, wine, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits about as well
- Figfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, wine, egg. 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.
More wine jelly recipes
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipes
Cinnamon Rolls71 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.