Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Ice Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Boil the sweet milk in a porcelain or granite vessel.
Beat the egg yolks and powdered sugar until light and free of lumps.
Dissolve the starch in a little cold milk and add it to the egg and sugar mixture.
Once the milk boils, slowly pour it into the egg, sugar, and starch mixture while beating continuously.
Wash the vessel with hot water, lightly butter it, and return it to the heat to thicken.
Stir constantly until thick, then set aside to cool.
Finish and freeze
When ready to freeze, fold in the whipped cream and add vanilla to taste.
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 + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Cream + vanillatop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,301 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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 yolks
- Thicken the custard and add richness as they set with heat.
- Sweet milk
- Forms the liquid base that the custard thickens into.
- Cream
- Adds fat and richness, giving a smoother, creamier texture.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the base and dissolves easily into the egg yolks.
- Starch
- Thickens the custard so it holds body and resists icy texture.
The step that matters
Stir constantly until thick. Egg yolks can curdle or scramble if overheated or left unstirred, so constant stirring over gentle heat keeps the custard smooth while the starch and yolks thicken it evenly.
“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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