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Dessert

Fruit Cream

A chilled dessert made with figs, grapes, sugar, milk, cream, and gelatin.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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Fruit Cream

Why it works: Fig and grape match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 323 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Fruit Cream

Ingredients

Directions

Dissolve and sweeten

  1. Soften one and one-fourth tablespoonfuls of granulated gelatin in one-fourth cup of cold water.

  2. Dissolve with one-fourth cup of hot milk.

  3. Add one-half cup of sugar.

Add fruit and cream

  1. Add one-half cup each of cooked figs and prunes, cut in small pieces.

  2. Add one-half cup of white grapes skinned, seeded and cut in pieces.

  3. Mix all together with one cup of heavy cream, whipped.

Set and mould

  1. Stir occasionally until it begins to set.

  2. Then mould.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

348Calories
9 gProtein
14 gFat
51 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
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Fig1 medium (50g)37
Waternot in our table0

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

By Norton, Caroline Trask. 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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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. Fig + grapetop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together323 recipes

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

  2. Milk + figtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,026 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

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

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

  4. Milk + grapetop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,682 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-hexanal (fruit).

  5. Sugar + figtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,241 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Gelatin
Sets the cream into a firm, sliceable body as it cools.
Heavy cream
Adds richness and a light, airy texture when whipped in.
Sugar
Sweetens the base and balances the tartness of the grapes.
Figs
Contribute body, mild sweetness and concentrated fruit flavour.
White grapes
Add fresh fruit flavour and moisture to the set cream.

The step that matters

Stir until it just begins to set. Gelatin sets as it cools, so the whipped cream and fruit must be folded in while the mixture is still fluid. If it sets too far, the cream will not blend evenly and the mould will be lumpy.

Swap the grape

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

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Strawberryfits better
  3. Apricotfits better
  4. Grapethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, sugar, fig, cream. 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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