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 ↓
Plombiere, or Ice Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
In a saucepan, combine cream, milk, egg yolks, whole eggs, mixed spice, sugar, and vanilla.
Stir over low heat until just below boiling, then strain through a fine sieve.
Freeze
Add Maraschino and brandy, mixing well.
Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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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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Vanilla + brandytop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Cream + vanillatop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,301 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
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
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the custard and give it a smooth, rich texture as it thickens.
- Whole eggs
- Add protein that helps set the custard and add structure to the frozen mixture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the base and lowers the freezing point, keeping the pudding softer when frozen.
- Cream
- Adds fat, which makes the frozen pudding smooth and creamy rather than icy.
- Milk
- Provides liquid and milk solids that form the body of the custard base.
The step that matters
Stirring the custard over low heat. Egg-thickened custards can curdle or turn grainy if overheated. Keeping the heat low and stopping just below boiling lets the eggs thicken gently and keeps the base smooth before straining and freezing.
“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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