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Cream Sauce

A set of sauces: cream, everyday, and lemon.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Women of the First Congregational Church (Marysville, Ohio) · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 ingredients
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Cream Sauce

Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Cream Sauce

Ingredients

Directions

Make the base

  1. Beat one teacup powdered white sugar and a scant half teacup butter thoroughly.

  2. Add half teacup rich cream and stir.

  3. Stir the mixture into half teacup boiling water.

  4. Place on stove for a few moments, stirring constantly.

Season and cook

  1. Take off the heat and add flavoring.

  2. Add a heaping teacup sugar, a tablespoon butter, a pinch of salt, and a tablespoon of Duryea's improved corn starch dissolved in cold water to one pint boiling water.

  3. Season with nutmeg or vanilla.

  4. Boil for half an hour.

  5. If good and well cooked, it will be very clear.

Add the eggs and lemon

  1. Beat two cups sugar, two eggs, juice of two lemons, and rind if you choose together.

  2. Just before serving, add one pint boiling water.

  3. Set on stove and let boil up once.

  4. Some add one-third cup butter and a tablespoon corn starch.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

292Calories
7 gProtein
23 gFat
15 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

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

By Women of the First Congregational Church (Marysville, Ohio). 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.

  1. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  3. Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,920 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  4. Tea + nutmegtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together202 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  5. Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together24,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Corn starch (in the method)
Swells in hot liquid and thickens the sauce as it cooks.
Eggs
Set when heated and add body and richness to the sauce.
Butter
Adds fat for richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and helps balance the sharpness of the lemon.
Rich cream
Adds fat and richness, softening the sauce's texture.
Lemons (in the method)
Provide acidity and bright flavor through their juice.

The step that matters

Cooking long enough with constant stirring. Corn starch only thickens fully when it is stirred while heating and cooked long enough for its granules to swell. Stopping early leaves a starchy, cloudy sauce, while thorough cooking gives the clear, smooth texture the record describes.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, tea, cream, egg):

  1. Cinnamonfits about as well
  2. Nutmegthe original
  3. Gingerfits less well
  4. Peppermintfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, tea, 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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