Name: Cream Mints
Ingredients: 1 pound confectioner's sugar; 1 egg white, well beaten; 2 teaspoons ice water; 25 drops peppermint oil

Why it works: Sugar and egg 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 ↓

Cream Mints

Ingredients

1 pound confectioner's sugar
1 egg white, well beaten
2 teaspoons ice water
25 drops peppermint oil

Directions

Mix the confectioner's sugar, egg white, ice water, and peppermint oil together until well combined.
Roll the mixture out on a clean surface using a rolling pin.
Cut the rolled mixture into shapes using a cutter about the size of a quarter.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar + pepperminttop 29% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,082 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Egg + pepperminttop 35% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together850 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Confectioner's sugar: Provides the bulk and sweetness, and its fine particles give the mints a smooth, firm body.
Egg white: Binds the sugar into a cohesive mixture that holds its shape when rolled and cut.
Ice water: Adds a small amount of moisture so the sugar mixture comes together into a workable dough.
Peppermint oil: Supplies the concentrated mint aroma and flavor that defines the mints.