Why it works: Sugar and cream 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 ↓
Tea Ice Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the base
Combine sugar, green tea, cream, milk, and cinnamon water in a saucepan.
Simmer for 1 minute without stirring, gently swinging the saucepan to keep the mixture in motion.
Freeze
Freeze the mixture as usual.
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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Green tea + cinnamontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30 recipes
Shared aroma: cinnamyl acetate (sweet aromatic, cinnamon).
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Cream + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
- Granulated sugar
- Adds sweetness and softens the texture of the frozen ice cream.
- Green tea
- Provides the main flavour and liquid base of the ice cream.
- Cream
- Adds fat for a smooth, rich texture.
- Rich milk
- Adds milk solids and liquid for body and a creamy texture.
The step that matters
Simmer without stirring. Stirring during the simmer can break up the mixture and encourage unwanted changes in texture. Gently swinging the saucepan keeps the liquid moving so it heats evenly without disturbing it.
“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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