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 ↓
Grape Charlotte
Ingredients
Directions
Make the gelatine base
Soak one-third box gelatin in one-third cup cold water, dissolve in one-third cup boiling water; strain.
Add one cup grape juice and two-thirds cup powdered sugar.
Place a circular dish, two to three inches deep, on ice.
Set and assemble
Pour mixture into the dish; when cool and beginning to thicken, add one and one-half cups of whipped cream, stir lightly.
Pour into mold lined with almond macaroons.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Grape | 1/2 cup (76g) | 62 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| 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.
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 pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Grape + sugartop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,490 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Grape + creamtop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,284 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Gelatine
- Sets the grape juice mixture into a sliceable, molded structure.
- Grape juice
- Supplies the main flavor and liquid base of the charlotte.
- Whipped cream
- Adds lightness and a creamy, airy texture to the set mixture.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the mixture and dissolves easily into the cold liquid.
The step that matters
Stir in the whipped cream after the mixture thickens. Gelatine begins setting as it cools. If the mixture is still warm, the cream will deflate and melt, and if it is too set, the cream will not blend in evenly, so it should be just thickened and cool.
Swap the grape
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Strawberryfits better
- Raspberryfits better
- Grapethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, sugar. 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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