Why it works: Sugar and cream 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 ↓
Chocolate Ice Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the chocolate custard
Grate half a pound of Baker's chocolate very finely.
Mix the grated chocolate into a smooth paste with a little fresh milk.
Take three pints of morning's milk and bring it to a boil over the fire.
Stir in the chocolate paste into the boiling milk.
Prepare the yolks of six eggs, well beaten with one pound of white sugar.
Pour the chocolate mixture over the yolk-sugar mixture, keeping it hot from the kettle, and return to the fire, stirring constantly until it thickens. Be careful to prevent burning.
Add the cream and whites
When the chocolate custard is cold, whip five pints of cream and stir it in.
Season slightly with vanilla.
Beat the whites of five eggs to a stiff froth, gradually adding two tablespoonsful of pulverized sugar.
When the whites are well mixed and the cream is about half frozen, combine them and place the mixture in the freezer.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 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 |
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.
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar 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
- Chocolate (in the method)
- Gives the ice cream its main flavour and deep colour.
- Eggs
- Yolks thicken the custard and whites add lightness to the frozen mixture.
- Cream
- Adds fat and richness, giving a smooth, creamy texture.
- White sugar
- Sweetens the custard and helps keep the frozen texture soft.
The step that matters
Thickening the custard. Stirring constantly over heat keeps the egg yolks from scrambling or burning on the bottom of the pan, while they thicken the custard smoothly.
“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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