Name: Cuban Flan
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups of sugar 6 egg yolks; 2 Cups of milk 3 egg whites; 1 tsp vanilla 1 lemon peel; 1/4 tsp salt 1 cinnamon stick; 1/4 cup water

Why it works: Vanilla and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,287 recipes. Both carry 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, which smells sweet, anise. The science ↓

Cuban Flan

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of sugar 6 egg yolks
2 Cups of milk 3 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla 1 lemon peel
1/4 tsp salt 1 cinnamon stick
1/4 cup water

Directions

Prepare a caramel by adding the 1/4 cup of water to 3/4 cups of sugar in a small saucepan over medium to low heat. Stir while cooking until the sugar starts melting. Let it simmer. Use a pastry brush dipped in water to wash the sides of the pan free of granular sugar. When sugar starts to thicken and turn brown remove from heat and add 2 cubes of ice to stop the cooking process, being very careful not to get burned with any splattering that may occur. Coat a warm baking dish or round mold by pouring the caramel and swirl it around the sides and bottom. put the coated mold aside( By the way the mold should be 9 inches in diameter).
Now comes the good part. In a saucepan bring to a boil the milk with the lemon peel, cinnamon stick and salt. When the mixtures starts to boil remove from heat and let it cool a little bit. (like my mother use to say: dejala refrescar)
In a medium bowl beat lightly the egg yolks, whites, vanilla and sugar until well mixed.
Pour into the bowl the slightly cooled milk and strain the egg and milk mixture into the caramel coated mold

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

306Calories

15 gProtein

13 gFat

32 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	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).

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.

Vanilla + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,287 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,187 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Lemon + cinnamontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together7,950 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,655 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

Sugar and vanilla 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

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, milk, vanilla, cinnamon):

Figfits better
Blueberryfits better
Peachfits better
Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, milk, vanilla, cinnamon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.