Name: Vanilla Ice Cream
Ingredients: two quarts of rich cream; one pound of white sugar; four eggs well beaten

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 ↓

Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients

two quarts of rich cream
one pound of white sugar
four eggs well beaten

Directions

Make the mixture

Combine two quarts of rich cream, one pound of white sugar, and the whites of four eggs well beaten.
Flavor to taste.

Freeze

Freeze.
If preferred, omit the eggs and freeze.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

178Calories

7 gProtein

11 gFat

14 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 3 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49

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

By Keokuk (Iowa). Westminster Presbyterian church. 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.

Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together42,166 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Cream and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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

Rich cream: Provides fat, which gives the ice cream its richness and smooth texture.
White sugar: Adds sweetness and keeps the frozen ice cream softer by lowering its freezing point.
Eggs: Adds protein and richness, helping the mixture hold together and feel smoother.

“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.