Why it works: Egg and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Sauce Liquid
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
In a double boiler, combine the egg and sugar.
Slowly add the boiling milk while stirring.
Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Finish
Remove from heat and add your desired flavoring.
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 + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk 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
- Egg
- Thickens the sauce as its proteins set during gentle cooking.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the sauce and helps keep the egg proteins tender while cooking.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the egg thickens into a smooth sauce.
The step that matters
Cook gently while stirring. Egg proteins set at around 160°F to 180°F and can scramble if overheated or left unstirred. Gentle heat in a double boiler and constant stirring keep the sauce smooth and lightly thickened.
“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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