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 ↓
Prune Whip
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Stew and drain the prunes, then pass them through a sieve.
Beat the egg whites until very light.
Add the sugar and prunes to the egg whites and beat again.
Bake and serve
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for half an hour.
Serve hot with whipped cream.
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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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
- Prunes
- Provide the main flavour and sweetness, and body once passed through a sieve.
- Egg whites
- Beaten to a light foam, they give the whip its airy structure and rise in the oven.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the whip and helps stabilise the beaten egg white foam.
The step that matters
Beating the egg whites until very light. Egg whites must form a stable foam to trap air. Underbeaten whites collapse, and overbeaten whites turn dry and grainy, so the whip will not rise well.
“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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