Why it works: Sugar and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
To Clarify Sugar
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the sugar
Break the sugar into large lumps and put it into a very clean preserving-pan.
Measure for each pound a pint of spring water if intended for syrup, but less than half that quantity for candying or making barley-sugar.
Clarify
Beat first apart (but not to a strong froth), and afterwards with the water, about half the white of an egg for six pounds of sugar, unless it should be very common, when twice as much may be used.
When they are well mixed, pour them over the sugar and let it stand until it is nearly dissolved.
Stir the whole thoroughly.
Place over a gentle fire, but do not disturb it after the scum begins to gather on the top.
Let it boil for five minutes.
Take the pan from the fire, let it stand a couple of minutes, then skim off the scum with a skimmer.
Set the pan again over the fire.
When the sugar begins to boil, throw in a little cold water that has been reserved for the purpose from the quantity first measured.
Repeat the skimming until the syrup is very clear.
Strain and finish
It may then be strained through a muslin or a thin cloth, and put into a clean pan for further boiling.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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.
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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
- Sugar
- Forms the sweet base of the syrup once dissolved in water.
- Egg white
- Binds to impurities and rises as scum, which skimming removes to clarify the syrup.
The step that matters
Skimming without disturbing the pan. Stirring after scum forms breaks it up and mixes impurities back into the syrup, so it must stay undisturbed until it is skimmed off.
“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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