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Drink

Cream Punch

A chilled drink made from milk, cream, sugar and egg, shaken and served immediately.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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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 ↓

Cream Punch

Ingredients

Directions

Mix and shake

  1. Put the milk into a pint pre‑serving jar and add the egg, cream and sugar.

  2. Fasten the top on the jar carefully, and shake well for a couple of minutes.

Serve

  1. Pour into a glass and serve immediately.

  2. In cases of typhoid fever, take special care to leave out the yolk of the egg unless the attending physician says it would be perfectly proper to give it to the patient.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

327Calories
15 gProtein
19 gFat
26 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49

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 + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  2. Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together29,399 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

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

  4. Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together77,875 recipes

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

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

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

Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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

Milk
Forms the liquid base, adding moisture and a light, mild body to the drink.
Cream
Adds fat for richness and a smooth, velvety mouthfeel.
Egg
Emulsifies with the cream and milk when shaken, giving a frothy, thicker texture.
Sugar
Adds sweetness that balances the richness of the cream and egg.

The step that matters

Shake well. Vigorous shaking emulsifies the egg, cream and milk together and traps air for a frothy texture. A brief or gentle shake leaves the egg unblended and the drink flat and uneven.

“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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