Why it works: Sugar and cream 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 ↓
Solid Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the cream
Combine four tablespoonfuls of pounded sugar, one quart of cream, two tablespoonfuls of brandy, and the juice of one large lemon.
Strain the lemon juice over the sugar and add the brandy, then stir in the cream.
Put the mixture into a pitcher and continue pouring from one pitcher to another until it is quite thick; or whisk until the desired consistency is obtained.
Serve
Serve in jelly glasses.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Brandy | 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.
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Cream + brandytop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,635 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
-
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Brandy + lemontop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,351 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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
- Cream
- Provides the rich body and fat that the mixture thickens into when poured or whisked.
- Pounded sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the sharpness of the lemon and brandy.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and cuts the richness of the cream.
- Brandy
- Adds aroma and a warm, spirited flavour to the cream.
The step that matters
Pouring or whisking until thick. Cream thickens by incorporating air when whisked or by repeated pouring, but overworking it can turn it grainy or buttery. Stop as soon as it reaches the desired consistency and check it often.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, cream, brandy):
- Vanillafits better
- Apricotfits better
- Strawberryfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, cream, brandy. 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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