Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Vienna Coffee
Ingredients
Directions
Brew the coffee
Combine mocha and java coffee in equal parts.
Add 3 tablespoons of coffee for each person plus 2 extra for strength.
Mix 1 egg with the coffee grounds.
Pour in half the boiling water needed and let the coffee froth.
Stir down the grounds and let it boil for 5 minutes.
Keep the coffee hot (but not boiling) for 5 to 10 minutes, then add the remaining water.
Serve
In cups, combine the cream with the beaten egg white and sugar.
Pour the hot coffee over the cream mixture.
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.
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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Coffee + creamtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,339 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
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Coffee + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,344 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked 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
- Mocha and java coffee
- Provides the main flavor and body of the drink.
- Egg
- Mixed with the grounds, it helps bind fine particles so the coffee settles clearer.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, mellow texture that softens the coffee's bitterness.
- Egg white
- Beaten into the cream, it lightens the topping with a airy, foamy texture.
The step that matters
Keep the coffee hot but not boiling. Holding the coffee just below boiling for 5 to 10 minutes lets the grounds settle. Boiling again would over-extract the coffee and make it harsh and bitter.
“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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