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 ↓
Marsh Mallow Cream for Prune Mousse
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Boil sugar and water until it forms a thread.
Make the cream
Remove from heat and stir in the marshmallow candy while hot.
Once dissolved, beat the mixture until it reaches a creamy consistency.
Gradually add the well-beaten egg white while continuing to beat.
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 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
- Granulated sugar
- Dissolves into the syrup and provides sweetness and the base structure of the cream.
- Marshmallow candy
- Adds sweetness, body and a soft, airy texture to the finished cream.
- Egg white
- Whipped into the mixture to add foam and lightness to the cream.
The step that matters
Adding the egg white. The egg white must be well beaten and added gradually while beating so it incorporates as fine foam instead of deflating or clumping in the hot mixture.
“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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