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Vanilla Ice Cream III

A custard-based vanilla ice cream made with milk, cream, flour, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla extract, and optional condensed milk.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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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 ↓

Vanilla Ice Cream III

Ingredients

Directions

Make the custard

  1. In a saucepan, combine milk and cream.

  2. Make a boiled custard by whisking in flour, egg yolks, and sugar over medium heat until thickened.

Cool and finish

  1. Remove from heat and let cool.

  2. Once cooled, stir in cream and vanilla extract.

  3. For a richer flavor, substitute part of the cream with condensed milk.

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. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

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

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

  4. Sugar + condensed milktop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together804 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,241 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

Milk
Forms the liquid base that the custard thickens and carries the other flavors.
Cream
Adds fat for a smooth, rich texture and mouthfeel.
Flour
Starch swells in the hot liquid and thickens the custard.
Egg yolks
Proteins set as they heat, thickening the custard and adding richness.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and helps balance the richness of the dairy and yolks.
Vanilla extract
Provides the main aroma and flavor of the finished ice cream.

The step that matters

Cooking the custard until thickened. Egg yolk proteins set when heated, so the custard can curdle or turn grainy if it cooks too hot or too fast. Keep the heat moderate and stir constantly while it thickens.

“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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