Why it works: Milk and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Caramel Custard
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the milk
Boil the milk.
Add the browned sugar to the hot milk.
Make the custard
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together.
Combine the egg mixture with the milk and sugar mixture.
Cook the mixture as you would for other custards.
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 + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar 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
- Eggs
- Proteins set when heated, thickening the mixture into a custard.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid base and body that the eggs set within.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the richness of the eggs and milk.
- Browned sugar
- Adds caramel flavor and color to the milk.
The step that matters
Cook the custard gently. Egg proteins set as they heat, but too much heat makes them tighten and curdle, leaving a grainy texture. Low, gentle heat and stirring keep the custard smooth.
“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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