Why it works: Milk and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,738 recipes. Both carry gamma-nonanolactone, which smells coconut, sweet. The science ↓
French Custard
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Dissolve the isinglass in the milk over low heat.
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with sugar and brandy to taste.
Gradually add the warm milk mixture to the egg yolks, stirring constantly.
Return the mixture to the heat and stir until it begins to boil.
Remove from heat and let it cool slightly before adding more brandy.
Set and chill
Pour the custard into a mold and refrigerate until set.
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 + brandytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,738 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Egg + brandytop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,340 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
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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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Brandy + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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
- Isinglass
- Gelatin-like setting agent that firms the custard as it cools.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard and add richness through their proteins and fat.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that carries the custard and dissolves the isinglass.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and balances the flavour of the brandy.
The step that matters
Stirring the warm milk into the yolks. Adding hot milk too quickly can scramble the egg yolks. Adding it gradually while stirring constantly tempers the yolks so they thicken 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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