Why it works: Sugar and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Boston Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Boil the sugar and water together to create a syrup.
Allow the syrup to cool.
Finish and serve
Beat the egg whites until frothy and add them to the syrup.
Stir in the tartaric acid and vanilla extract.
To serve, mix 1 tablespoon of the mixture with ½ glass of water and add soda while effervescing.
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.
-
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Egg + vanillatop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together27,347 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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
- White sugar
- Sweetens the syrup and gives it body.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to a froth, they trap air and lighten the mixture.
- Tartaric acid
- Adds sharp acidity and reacts with soda to produce fizz.
- Vanilla extract
- Adds aroma and flavor.
The step that matters
Adding the soda while effervescing. The soda reacts with the acid to release carbon dioxide, which makes the drink fizz. The gas escapes quickly, so the soda should be added and the drink served right away to keep it lively.
“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.
More boston cream recipes
You might also like
Vanilla Ice Cream108 recipes
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.