Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Ice Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Scald the milk in a saucepan.
Beat the egg yolks in a bowl and mix in the sugar and salt.
Pour the boiling milk over the egg mixture and mix thoroughly.
Return the mixture to a double boiler and stir constantly until it thickens.
Strain the mixture immediately and let it cool.
Flavour and finish
Once cool, add the chopped candied cherries, brandy, and vanilla.
Just before freezing, fold in the whipped cream.
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 + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Brandy + vanillatop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Vanilla + creamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,301 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Thicken the custard as they set with gentle heat, and add richness.
- Cream
- Whipped cream adds air and a light, smooth texture to the frozen mixture.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, carrying the sugar and flavour.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the base and lowers the freezing point, keeping the ice cream softer.
The step that matters
Stir the custard over the double boiler until it thickens. Egg yolks thicken as they heat, but if they get too hot they can curdle and turn grainy. Constant stirring over gentle heat keeps the custard smooth. Straining right after cooking catches any small lumps.
“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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