Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Ice Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Soak the gelatin in cold milk for 30 minutes.
Boil 1 quart of milk, then stir in the beaten yolks of 8 eggs, sugar, and the soaked gelatin.
Remove from heat when the custard thickens and pour into a deep dish with the beaten egg whites.
Flavor and chill
Mix well and flavor with vanilla to taste.
Pour into molds and refrigerate for 4 hours to cool.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Vanilla + sherrytop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together506 recipes
Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Milk + sherrytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,479 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Gelatine
- Sets the mixture as it cools, giving the ice cream a firm, sliceable body.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard and add richness and smooth texture.
- Egg whites
- Add airy lightness to the mixture as it is folded in.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard and carries the other ingredients.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and softens its texture.
The step that matters
Remove from heat when the custard thickens. Egg yolks thicken as they warm, but overheating can scramble them into lumps. Pulling the pan off heat at the right moment keeps the custard smooth before the gelatin and whites are added.
“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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