Why it works: Milk and corn are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,955 recipes. Both carry hexanal, which smells green, grassy. The science ↓
Orange Ice Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Boil two quarts of milk.
Stir in it while boiling one tablespoonful of corn starch mixed with a little cold milk, and the yolks of three eggs beaten light. Stir it briskly to prevent its curdling.
Finish and freeze
When perfectly cold add one and a half pints of cream and the juice of six oranges. Sweeten to taste.
Beat very light the whites of three eggs and stir them in just before freezing.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Orange | 1 medium (131g) | 62 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
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.
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.
-
Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
-
Corn + orangetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together586 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Milk + orangetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,696 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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 of the custard and sets with the eggs and starch.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the milk so the custard becomes smooth and body-rich.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the custard and help it set smooth when heated.
- Cream
- Adds fat for a richer, creamier texture in the frozen ice cream.
- Oranges
- Provide the juice that gives the ice cream its flavor and acidity.
- Egg whites
- Beaten light and folded in, they add air for a lighter frozen texture.
The step that matters
Stir the custard briskly while it boils. Starch and egg yolks can curdle or lump if heated unevenly or left still, so constant stirring keeps the custard smooth and thickened.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, corn, cream, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Strawberryfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, corn, cream, egg. 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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