Name: Strawberries with Black Pepper
Ingredients: 1 pint basket California strawberries, stemmed and halved; 3 tablespoons sugar; 1 tablespoon heavy cream; 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier; 1 tablespoon Brandy; 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Why it works: Sugar and cream 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 ↓

Strawberries with Black Pepper

Time1 hour

Ingredients

1 pint basket California strawberries, stemmed and halved
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
1 tablespoon Brandy
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Directions

Prepare

Combine ingredients in a bowl and toss gently.

Chill and serve

Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Serve over vanilla ice cream in stemmed glasses.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

155Calories

2 gProtein

6 gFat

26 gCarbs

Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Strawberry	1 cup (152g)	49
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Brandy	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Cream + brandytop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,635 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together11,939 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Cream + peppertop 23% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together21,449 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Brandy + peppertop 32% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together934 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).

Sugar and brandy barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,939 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

Strawberries: Provide the fresh fruit base and juice that the sugar and liqueurs draw out.
Sugar: Sweetens the berries and draws out their juices to form a syrup.
Heavy cream: Adds richness and a smoother, rounder mouthfeel to the juices.
Grand marnier: Adds orange-citrus aroma and sweetness to the berry syrup.
Brandy: Adds warm, oaky aroma and depth to the berry syrup.
Cracked black pepper: Adds a sharp, peppery aroma that contrasts with the sweet berries.

“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.