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Dessert

How We Cook in Tennessee

A set of ice cream recipes using cream, milk, eggs, sugar, and optional sherry wine.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Jackson (Tenn.). First Baptist Church. The Silver Thimble Society · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Cream and sugar 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 ↓

How We Cook in Tennessee

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the base

  1. Sweeten and flavor three quarts of rich cream.

  2. Beat the whites of three eggs stiff.

  3. Add one small cup sugar and beat as for icing.

  4. Mix with three pints cream, one pint milk, and a teaspoon of vanilla.

  5. Beat yolks of two eggs well and add one cup sugar.

  6. Add whites of five eggs and beat well.

Make the custard

  1. Have the milk boiling.

  2. Add some of the boiling milk to the eggs, then put all into the boiling milk.

  3. Rub two tablespoons flour to a paste with milk.

  4. Beat whites of five eggs.

  5. Beat yolks of three eggs.

  6. Put one quart of milk to boil with sugar, stirring till dissolved.

  7. Beat yolks in a glass tumbler with a fork, then add them to the milk as soon as it is warm.

  8. When the milk strikes a boil, stir in the moistened flour.

  9. When thickened, pour into a bowl over the whites, beating rapidly.

  10. Add the other quart of milk and set bowl in a vessel of cold water to cool.

Freeze and finish

  1. Freeze.

  2. When two quarts are frozen to the consistency of mush, add the third quart well whipped.

  3. When cool enough, begin to freeze it, adding the cream after it begins to freeze.

  4. Flavor with sherry wine.

  5. If sherry wine is used to flavor, it should not be added till it begins to freeze.

  6. Flavor.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

782Calories
28 gProtein
20 gFat
121 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49

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

By Jackson (Tenn.). First Baptist Church. The Silver Thimble Society. 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.

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. Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

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

  2. Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together78,219 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together92,116 recipes

    Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

  4. Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together106,462 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Cream + milktop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together29,399 recipes

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

Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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 and whites thicken the custard and whipped whites add lightness to the texture.
Flour
Thickens the milk mixture so the custard sets smoothly as it heats.
Sugar
Sweetens the mixture and helps keep the frozen cream softer.
Cream
Adds richness and fat, giving the ice cream a smooth, creamy body.
Milk
Forms the liquid base of the custard and adds body to the freeze.

The step that matters

Adding the cream after freezing begins. Cream added before freezing starts can separate or dilute the base. Adding it once the mixture is partly frozen lets it blend in and keeps the texture smooth and rich.

“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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