Why it works: Milk and egg 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 ↓
Custards
Ingredients
Directions
Heat the milk in a bain-marie, ensuring it does not boil.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and mix in the sugar.
Gradually add the warm milk to the egg mixture, stirring constantly.
Return the mixture to the bain-marie and cook until thickened, stirring frequently.
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 + 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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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that sets into the custard when heated with the eggs.
- Eggs
- Coagulate on heating to thicken the mixture and give the custard its structure.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and softens the set custard slightly.
The step that matters
Return the mixture to the bain-marie and cook until thickened. Egg proteins set gently between about 70 and 85 degrees Celsius. Overheating or boiling can curdle the eggs, leaving a grainy texture, so stir frequently and keep the heat gentle.
“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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