Name: Cornstarch Blanc Mange
Ingredients: one quart of sweet milk; one pint of milk boiled; a cupful of sugar; one pint upon the stove to heat; four heaping tablespoonfuls of cornstarch; three eggs beaten to a stiff froth; three eggs; salt

Why it works: Milk and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

Cornstarch Blanc Mange

Ingredients

Directions

Start the custard

Take one quart of sweet milk and put one pint upon the stove to heat.
In the other pint mix four heaping tablespoonfuls of cornstarch and half a cupful of sugar.
When the milk is hot, pour in the cold milk with the cornstarch and sugar thoroughly mixed in it and stir altogether until there are no lumps and it is thick.
Flavor with lemon.

Add the eggs

Take from the stove and add the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth.
Boil one pint of milk with a little salt in it.
Beat the yolks of three eggs with half a cupful of sugar and add to the boiling milk.
Stir well, but do not let it boil until the eggs are put in.
Flavor to taste.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

731Calories

27 gProtein

14 gFat

120 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

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

By F. L. Gillette and Hugo Ziemann. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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.

Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together88,785 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together77,875 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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

Cornstarch: Thickens the milk as it heats, setting the custard into a smooth, spoonable texture.
Milk: Forms the liquid base of the custard that thickens and sets.
Eggs: Yolks enrich and help set the custard; whites beaten to a froth add lightness.
Sugar: Sweetens the custard and balances the flavor.

The step that matters

Adding the egg yolks to the boiling milk. Egg proteins set with heat and can curdle or turn grainy if the mixture boils after they go in. Stirring well and keeping it below a boil keeps the custard 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.

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Cornstarch Blanc Mange