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A Cocoa Egg-nogg

A cocoa eggnog made by beating egg white with sugar, cocoa, salt, and cold milk.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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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 ↓

A Cocoa Egg-nogg

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Beat the white of one egg until stiff.

  2. While beating, gradually add one teaspoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of breakfast cocoa, and a few grains of salt.

  3. Add three-fourths of a cupful of cold milk to the mixture, while beating constantly.

  4. Turn into a glass and pile the remaining mixture on top.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

282Calories
8 gProtein
14 gFat
30 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chocolate1 oz (28g) semisweet155
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Salt1 tsp (6g)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 a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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. See the original page.

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.

  1. Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  2. Sugar + cocoatop 27% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together956 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  3. Cocoa + eggtop 29% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together582 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Egg white
Whipped until stiff, it traps air and gives the drink a light, foamy structure.
Milk (in the method)
Supplies the liquid base and body of the drink.
Cocoa
Adds chocolate flavor and a brown color.
Sugar
Sweetens the drink and helps the beaten foam hold together.

The step that matters

Adding the milk while beating constantly. Liquid poured into whipped egg white can deflate the foam. Adding the milk slowly while beating keeps it gradually incorporated so the foam stays airy and stable.

Swap the cocoa

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

  1. Pecansfits better
  2. Almondfits better
  3. Chestnutfits better
  4. Cocoathe original

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

“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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