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 ↓
Cranberry Bavarian Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cranberries
Stew one quart of cranberries.
While hot, rub through a sieve.
Measure out half a pint, and add to it a half cup of granulated sugar.
Make the cream
Soak a quarter of a box of gelatin in a quarter of a cup of water for one hour.
Set the bowl over steam entirely to dissolve the gelatin, then add the cranberries.
Turn the mixture into an earthenware bowl, set in a pan of ice water and beat until it is perfectly cold and begins to thicken.
Add half a cup of rich milk and beat again.
Add half a cup of whipped cream.
Beat it thoroughly and turn it into a mould and set on the ice to congeal.
Serve
Serve with cream.
Do not use a tin mould for cranberries.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| 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.
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk 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
- Cranberries
- Provide the tart fruit flavour and colour that give the cream its character.
- Gelatin (in the method)
- Sets the cream so it holds its shape when chilled.
- Rich milk
- Adds richness and softness to the cream.
- Whipped cream
- Adds fat and air, giving a light, creamy texture.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the tart cranberries.
The step that matters
Beat until cold and just thickening, before adding the milk and cream. Gelatin begins to set as it cools, so the mixture must be thick enough to hold the added milk and whipped cream evenly. If it sets too far, lumps form; if it is still warm, the cream will not hold and the dessert may not set firmly.
“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.
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.