Why it works: Arrowroot and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 553 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
Arrowroot Blanc-mange
5 personsIngredients
Directions
Make the custard base
Mix arrowroot with 1/2 pint of milk to a smooth batter.
Heat the remaining pint of milk with laurel leaves or lemon peel until well flavored.
Strain the flavored milk.
Add the boiling strained milk to the arrowroot mixture.
Sweeten with sifted sugar.
Boil, stirring constantly, until it thickens enough to leave the saucepan.
Mould and serve
Grease a mould with pure salad oil.
Stir in a tablespoonful of brandy just before moulding.
Pour the mixture into the mould.
When set, turn the mould onto a dish.
Pour a fruit compote around it, or garnish with jam.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 4 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Brandy | not in our table | 0 |
| Arrowroot | 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.
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Arrowroot + lemontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together553 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Laurel + lemontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,239 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Milk + brandytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,738 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
-
Arrowroot + laureltop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together39 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Arrowroot
- Thickens the milk into a smooth, sliceable set custard.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the arrowroot thickens into the blanc-mange.
- Brandy
- Adds aroma and flavor to the finished dessert.
The step that matters
Boil, stirring constantly, until it thickens enough to leave the saucepan.. Arrowroot thickens as its starch swells in hot liquid, and it can scorch or lump if left unstirred. Stop when the mixture is thick enough to pull away from the pan, since it sets further as it cools in the mould.
Swap the arrowroot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, brandy, laurel, lemon):
- Arrowrootthe original
- Carrotfits about as well
- Potatofits about as well
- Shallotfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, brandy, laurel, lemon. 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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