Name: How We Cook in Tennessee
Ingredients: two cups sugar; two cups sweet milk; one tablespoon butter; three cupfuls of milk; two ounces of chocolate; three cupfuls of hot milk; one-half cup of sugar; one tablespoonful of boiling water; half cups milk; one-fourth cup sugar; one-half teaspoonful vanilla; one pint of milk in double boiler; half cup of sugar; two tablespoons of chocolate dissolved in a tablespoon of boil- ing water; two tablespoons poavdered sugar; half cup sugar; one quart sweet milk; two cups of sugar; one cup of buttermilk; half cup of sweet milk; one tablespoon of sugar; one cup butter; half cup sweet milk; a cupful of maple sugar crushed fine; a teaspoonful of vanilla; a tablespoon of boil- ing water; four eggs; five eggs until light; six eggs; four tablespoonfuls

Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

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 + vanillatop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,187 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,020 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,973 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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

Eggs: Yolks thicken the custard and whites form the meringue topping.
Chocolate: Provides the chocolate flavor and colour of the custard.
Milk: Forms the liquid base that the eggs set into a custard.
Sugar: Sweetens the custard and helps the meringue hold its structure.

The step that matters

Adding the chocolate mixture to the beaten yolks. If the hot liquid is poured in too fast, the egg yolks can scramble instead of thickening smoothly. Pouring slowly while whisking gently warms the yolks so the custard stays smooth.

“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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chocolate	1 oz (28g) semisweet	155
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Maple Syrup	1 tbsp (20ml)	52
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0

How We Cook in Tennessee