Why it works: Sugar and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Lauterzucker
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
In a kettle, combine 10 lbs of sugar and 4 quarts of water.
Stir over medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Once boiling, remove any scum that forms on the surface; an egg white can help with this.
If the syrup begins to boil over, add a little cold water or remove the kettle from the heat for a minute.
Finish and bottle
Return to heat and insert a sugar thermometer; boil until it reaches 36 degrees on the thermometer.
If the temperature exceeds 36 degrees, add more water to lower it back to the desired temperature.
Strain the syrup through a fine cloth and transfer it to bottles.
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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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Dissolves to form the sweet base of the syrup, and its concentration sets the final density.
- Water
- Dissolves the sugar and carries heat evenly so the syrup can be brought to a set temperature.
- Egg white
- Binds to impurities as it heats, helping lift scum to the surface for removal.
The step that matters
Boil to 36 degrees. Sugar concentration rises as water evaporates and boils off, so the syrup's thickness depends on reaching the target temperature. Overshooting makes it too concentrated, which is why the record says to add water to bring it back down.
“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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