Why it works: Butter and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 118,967 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓
Gooseberry Fool
Ingredients
Directions
Make the gooseberry base
Stew a quart of ripe gooseberries in just enough water to cover them.
When soft, rub them through a colander to remove the skins and seeds.
While hot, stir into them a tablespoonful of melted butter and a cupful of sugar.
Beat the yolks of three eggs and add that.
Whip all together until light.
Assemble and serve
Fill a large glass fruit dish.
Spread on the top the beaten whites mixed with three tablespoonfuls of sugar.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Water | 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.
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Gooseberries
- Provide the main fruit flavour and the pulp that forms the body of the fool.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the mixture and help it set smoothly into a light, creamy texture.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a foam that lightens the topping and gives the fool its airy finish.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the tart gooseberries and helps stabilise the whipped whites.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, rounded mouthfeel to the fruit base.
The step that matters
Whip all together until light. Whipping incorporates air into the warm fruit and yolk mixture, giving the fool its light texture. Under-whipping leaves it dense, while the hot fruit must be cooled enough that the egg yolks do not scramble.
“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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