Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Ice Creams
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
In a pan, combine the egg yolks and a little sugar, and beat well.
Gradually add the cream to the egg mixture.
Place the pan over low heat and stir gently with a wooden or silver spoon until the cream thickens without boiling.
Cool and finish
Once thickened, remove from heat and let cool.
Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and stir until completely cold.
Flavor the cream to your taste.
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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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 cream as they set gently over low heat, and add richness.
- Heavy cream
- Provides fat and body, giving the finished ice cream a smooth, rich texture.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and softens the texture by keeping ice crystals small.
The step that matters
Stir over low heat without boiling. Egg yolks begin to set around modest heat and will scramble if the mixture boils. Gentle, constant stirring spreads heat evenly so the custard thickens smoothly.
“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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