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 ↓
Jellied Custard with Meringue
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Combine ¼ oz. gelatin, 1 cup water, 3 cups rich milk, 4 yolks of eggs, 4–6 tablespoons sugar, and flavoring.
Cook custard and cool.
Add vanilla and gelatin, then pour into a mold.
Make the meringue and serve
Just before serving, beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth with 2 or 3 tablespoons powdered sugar.
Add 1½–2½ tablespoons lemon juice, and heap spoonfuls of the meringue around the base of the mold.
Serve immediately.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| 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.
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard and add richness as they set when cooked.
- Gelatin
- Sets the custard so it holds its shape when chilled.
- Rich milk
- Provides the liquid base and creamy richness of the custard.
- Egg whites
- Whip into a stiff foam that forms the light meringue topping.
The step that matters
Cook custard and cool. Egg yolks thicken only within a limited temperature range; overheating scrambles them and makes the custard grainy. Gelatin must also be fully dissolved before the custard cools, or it will set unevenly.
“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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