Why it works: Egg and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 24% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 42,166 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Custard
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
In a bowl, beat the egg until well mixed.
Gradually add the cream while stirring continuously.
Make the custard
Pour the mixture into a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened.
Cool and serve
Remove from heat and let cool 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 + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and cream 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
- Egg
- Egg proteins set when heated, thickening the mixture into a custard.
- Cream
- Adds fat and moisture, giving the custard a smooth, rich texture.
The step that matters
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly. Egg proteins begin to set as the mixture heats. Gentle heat and constant stirring spread the heat evenly, so the custard thickens smoothly instead of curdling or scrambling.
“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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