Why it works: Egg and corn are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 26% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,484 recipes. Both carry (e)-2-octenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Corn Starch Custard
Ingredients
Directions
Combine 1 quart milk, 4 tablespoons sugar, 1½ tablespoon corn starch, 1 egg, and salt.
Blend corn starch with a little cold milk and pour slowly into the remainder of milk heated to boiling with the sugar.
Boil until thickened, or cook in a double boiler for 10 minutes.
Add a little of the hot mixture to the beaten egg, then pour the egg mixture back into the hot custard.
Stir well, remove from heat, add salt and flavoring, and strain.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| 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.
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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Egg + corntop 26% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,484 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Corn starch
- Thickens the milk into a smooth custard as it heats and boils.
- Egg
- Adds richness and helps set the custard when gently heated.
- Milk (in the method)
- Forms the liquid base that the starch and egg thicken.
- Sugar (in the method)
- Adds sweetness to the custard.
The step that matters
Add the egg mixture back into the hot custard. Adding the egg to hot custard without tempering it first can scramble the egg. Adding a little hot mixture to the beaten egg first warms it gradually, so it blends in smoothly.
“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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