Name: Neapolitan Ice Cream
Ingredients: one quart of cream; two cupfuls of sugar; one quart of milk; one-half saltspoonful of salt; two tablespoonfuls of flavoring; half cupful of water; one tablespoonful of gelatine; six eggs; salt

Why it works: Cream and sugar 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 ↓

Neapolitan Ice Cream

Ingredients

Directions

Make the custard

Beat the eggs until creamy.
Add the salt.
Cook the sugar in a half cupful of water for five minutes.
Scald the milk.
Add gelatin, softened with a little cold water and dissolved in the hot milk.
Add the syrup and pour the hot milk over the beaten egg.
Cook over boiling water until creamy, but not curdled.

Finish and freeze

When cool, add the cream and flavoring.
Freeze.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

327Calories

15 gProtein

19 gFat

26 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
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.

By Tracy, Suzanne. [from old catalog]. 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.

Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Cream + milktop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,399 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together88,785 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together77,875 recipes

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

Eggs: Thicken the custard base and add richness when cooked gently until creamy.
Sugar: Sweetens the base and helps keep the frozen texture softer.
Cream: Adds fat and richness, giving a smoother, creamier frozen texture.
Milk: Provides the liquid base and dairy flavour for the custard.
Gelatine: Stabilises the custard so it holds a smooth, firm texture when frozen.

The step that matters

Cook over boiling water until creamy, but not curdled. Egg proteins thicken the custard as it heats, but if it gets too hot they set in lumps and curdle. Gentle heat over boiling water keeps the custard smooth.

“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.

White Cake431 recipes

Pound Cake373 recipes

Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes

Spice Cake344 recipes

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.

Neapolitan Ice Cream