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 ↓
Ice Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard base
Heat the milk in a saucepan.
Cut the vanilla bean into small pieces and add it to the milk; let it boil for 30 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix the flour or arrow-root with some cold milk.
Gradually stir the mixture into the boiling milk.
Beat the eggs in a separate bowl, adding a little cold milk, then pour them into the boiling milk.
Boil everything together for a few minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and strain through a fine sieve.
Finish and chill
Add the cream and sugar, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
Let the mixture cool before freezing.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Vanilla + sugartop 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 + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,241 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Vanilla and sugar 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
- Eggs
- Thicken the custard as they set when heated, giving the base body and richness.
- Flour or powdered arrow-root
- Starch that thickens the milk and helps keep the base smooth and stable.
- Rich cream
- Adds fat, which gives the frozen ice cream a smooth, creamy texture.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and lowers the freezing point, keeping the ice cream softer when frozen.
- Rich milk
- Provides liquid and milk solids that form the base of the custard.
The step that matters
Stirring the eggs into the boiling milk. Eggs can scramble if they hit very hot liquid too quickly. Tempering with a little cold milk first and stirring constantly keeps the custard smooth and evenly thickened.
“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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