Why it works: Milk and sherry are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,479 recipes. Both carry 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine, which smells cocoa, roasted. The science ↓
Wine Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Beat the yolks of two eggs until light.
Add ½ cup of powdered sugar to the yolks and mix well.
Beat the whites of two eggs until stiff and add ½ cup of powdered sugar.
Combine the yolk mixture with the egg whites.
Stir in ¼ cup of hot milk and 2 tablespoons of sherry wine.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + sherrytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,479 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + winetop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,116 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (fenugreek, curry).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 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
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the sauce and give it a rich, smooth body when beaten.
- Egg whites
- Whipped until stiff, they add lightness and airy volume to the sauce.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the sauce and dissolves easily into the beaten eggs.
- Hot milk
- Thins the mixture and adds moisture and softness.
- Sherry wine
- Adds aroma and a mild acidic, fruity flavor.
The step that matters
Beating the egg whites until stiff. Whites must be beaten to stiff peaks to trap air and keep the sauce light. Under-beaten whites stay runny and deflate when combined, while over-beaten whites turn dry and grainy.
“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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