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 ↓
Of Ices
Ingredients
Directions
Make the base
Combine the juice of fruits, cream, liqueurs, and sugar in a mixing bowl.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the fruit mixture.
Freeze and serve
Place the mixture in a freezing pot.
Surround the pot with pounded ice and coarse sea salt.
Let it freeze for six hours, mixing occasionally to ensure even consistency.
Cut into square pieces to serve.
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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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Cream and egg 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
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, creamy body to the frozen dessert.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to stiff peaks, they add airy lightness to the mixture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the mixture and softens the texture by lowering the freezing point.
- Juice of fruits
- Provides fruity flavour and acidity to the base.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Beaten egg whites hold air, and overmixing or stirring vigorously deflates them, making the final ice cream denser. Fold gently so the foam stays intact.
“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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