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Dessert

Spanish Custard

A gelatin-based custard made with eggs, cream, sugar, and flavoring.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Gelatin and cream match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,628 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓

Spanish Custard

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the gelatin

  1. Soak the gelatin in cold water.

  2. Dissolve the gelatin in boiling water.

Make the custard

  1. Beat the yolks, sugar, and salt together.

  2. Scald the cream.

  3. Pour the scalded cream over the egg and sugar mixture.

  4. Return the mixture to a double boiler and cook until it thickens.

Finish and set

  1. Add the dissolved gelatin and the beaten egg whites.

  2. Remove from heat.

  3. Flavor with essence.

  4. Pour into a mold.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Gelatin + creamtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,628 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  2. Gelatin + sugartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,778 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  4. Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  5. Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together42,166 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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

Egg yolks
Thicken the custard as they cook and add richness.
Egg whites
Add lightness and airy volume to the custard.
Thin cream
Adds richness and moisture for a smooth, soft texture.
Gelatin
Sets the custard so it holds its shape when cold.
Sugar
Sweetens the custard and softens its flavor.

The step that matters

Cooking the custard until it thickens. Egg yolks thicken as their proteins set with gentle heat. Overheating can curdle the custard, so cook it slowly in a double boiler and stop once it coats a spoon.

“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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