Why it works: Brandy and milk 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 ↓
Egg Nog
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the eggs
Separate the yolks and whites of the eggs.
Beat the yolks with sugar until well combined.
Add the brandy to the yolk and sugar mixture.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Combine
Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture.
Stir in the milk until well combined.
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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Brandy + milktop 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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Egg + milktop 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
- Eggs
- Yolks thicken and enrich the drink, while whipped whites add a light, airy foam.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid base and creamy body of the drink.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps stabilize the beaten egg whites.
- Brandy
- Adds aroma and flavor, and its alcohol does not set the eggs in this uncooked mixture.
The step that matters
Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture.. Beaten whites hold air that gives eggnog its light texture. Vigorous stirring knocks that air out, leaving the drink dense and flat.
“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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