Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and 43,450 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Creme-de-menthe Ice Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the ice cream
In a bowl, combine the sugar and beaten egg with the cream and a speck of salt.
Freeze the mixture until it is firm.
Finish and serve
Once frozen, stir in the crème de menthe.
Pack the ice cream for a while before serving.
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.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Cream and egg share little aroma chemistry, yet 42,166 recipes mention both: they likely 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
- Thin cream
- Provides the fat and body that make the ice cream rich and smooth.
- Egg
- Adds richness and helps bind the mixture into a smooth, creamy texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the base and lowers the freezing point, keeping the ice cream softer.
- Crème de menthe
- Adds mint flavour and aroma and stays softer when frozen because of its alcohol.
The step that matters
Stir in the crème de menthe after freezing. Alcohol and sugar lower the freezing point, so liqueur added before freezing can keep the ice cream from setting firm. Adding it once the mixture is frozen keeps the texture intact.
“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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