Why it works: Pineapple and strawberry match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 433 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Strawberry Charlotte
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the strawberries
Pick, wash, and cap the strawberries.
Let the strawberries stand with 1 cup of sugar for 1 hour.
Mash the strawberries and strain to extract 1 cup of juice, allowing some pulp to pass through.
Dissolve the gelatin in the cup of strawberry juice.
Make the custard
Heat the pineapple juice to boiling point.
Beat the eggs stiff over crushed ice.
Add the remaining sugar and beat well again.
Gradually pour the hot pineapple juice mixture over the egg mixture.
When the mixture is nearly set, pour it into a mold that has been dipped in cold water.
Assemble and serve
Line the mold with halved strawberries.
Chill until ready to serve.
Turn the charlotte onto a platter and garnish with whole strawberries and whipped cream.
Serve with strawberry sauce.
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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Pineapple + strawberrytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together433 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Gelatin + saucetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together104 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Gelatin + creamtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,628 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Gelatin + sugartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,778 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Gelatin
- Sets the liquid mixture into a firm, sliceable charlotte.
- Eggs
- Whipped to a stiff foam, they give the charlotte a light, airy texture.
- Strawberries
- Provide the main flavor, color, and juice that sets the charlotte.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the dessert and balances the tartness of the fruit.
- Pineapple juice
- Adds liquid and a bright, tangy flavor to the custard base.
The step that matters
Gradually pour the hot pineapple juice mixture over the egg mixture.. Pouring hot liquid into beaten eggs too quickly can scramble them and deflate the foam. Adding it slowly while beating keeps the eggs smooth and airy.
Swap the pineapple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (gelatin, sugar, egg, cream, strawberry, sauce):
- Vanillafits better
- Raspberryfits about as well
- Pineapplethe original
- Bananafits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against gelatin, sugar, egg, cream, strawberry, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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