Why it works: Egg and sugar 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 ↓
Frosting
Ingredients
Directions
Combine the egg white and powdered sugar in a bowl without beating the egg.
Beat the mixture until the frosting drops from the spoon and forms little peaks.
Use immediately or store in a cool place.
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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Egg + sugartop 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
- Egg white
- Whipped into foam, its proteins trap air and set, giving the frosting its light, stiff structure.
- Powdered sugar
- Dissolves into the foam, adding sweetness and body that helps the frosting hold its shape.
The step that matters
Beat until little peaks form. Beating stops when the frosting drops from the spoon and forms little peaks. Too little beating leaves it runny, while over-beating can make it grainy and dry, so watch the texture closely.
“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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