Why it works: Egg and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Snow Custard
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard base
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until creamy.
Gradually add the milk, mixing well.
Add the whites and serve
In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the egg yolk mixture.
Pour into a serving dish and chill before serving.
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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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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 whites
- Whipped to stiff peaks, they trap air and give the dessert its light, airy texture.
- Egg yolks
- Beaten with sugar, they enrich the custard and add richness and body.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, adding moisture and creaminess.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and helps the yolks become smooth and creamy when beaten.
The step that matters
Fold the whipped egg whites gently. Whipped egg whites are a foam held together by trapped air. Stirring or beating them in vigorously knocks out that air, making the dessert dense instead of light.
“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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