Why it works: Vanilla and chocolate are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,020 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓
New Year's Blanc Mange
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the base
Take one quarter of a box of gelatin or isinglass and dissolve it in half a pint of cold water over the steam of a tea‑kettle.
Strain the gelatin through a fine cloth or wire sieve.
Take a pint of rich cream and whip it to a stiff froth.
Take the whites of three eggs and beat them to a stiff froth.
Sweeten with powdered sugar to suit the taste.
Grate one cake of vanilla chocolate.
Beat all well together.
Make and layer the blanc mange
Make two separate parts of the blanc mange, coloring one with white or pink sugar and the other with chocolate.
Lay the mixtures alternately in the molds, starting with the pink layer and ending with the chocolate layer.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 6 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Chocolate | 1 oz (28g) semisweet | 155 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Vanilla | 1 tsp extract (4ml) | 12 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| Cake | 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.
-
Vanilla + chocolatetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
-
Tea + vanillatop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together170 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Tea + chocolatetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together163 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
-
Cream + chocolatetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,466 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Cream + vanillatop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,301 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
Cream and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,301 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
- Whipped to a stiff froth, it gives the blanc mange its light, rich body.
- Eggs
- Whipped whites trap air, adding lightness and a foamy texture.
- Gelatin
- Sets the liquid mixture so it holds its shape when chilled and unmolded.
- Vanilla chocolate
- Adds flavor and colour to one of the two layers.
The step that matters
Strain the gelatin through a fine cloth or wire sieve. Undissolved gelatin particles or lumps left in the liquid will make the set dessert grainy and uneven in texture.
“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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