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Ginger Cream

A chilled ginger custard made with preserved ginger, egg yolks, milk, ginger syrup, heavy cream, and gelatin.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Syrup and gelatin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 192 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Ginger Cream

Ingredients

Directions

Make the custard

  1. In a saucepan, combine egg yolks, milk, and ginger syrup.

  2. Boil gently while stirring until the mixture thickens and becomes smooth.

  3. Strain the mixture into a basin.

Set and chill

  1. Add heavy cream and dissolved gelatin, then whisk until thickened.

  2. Pour into a damp mold and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours.

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.

  1. Syrup + gelatintop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together192 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Cream + gelatintop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,628 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  3. Syrup + creamtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,964 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Ginger + syruptop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together950 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together29,399 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

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 as they set on gentle heating, giving it richness and a smooth body.
Gelatin
Sets the cream so it holds its shape when unmoulded and chilled.
Heavy cream
Adds fat for a soft, creamy texture and a rich mouthfeel.
Preserved ginger
Provides the main ginger flavour and some sweetness and aroma.

The step that matters

Boil gently while stirring. Egg yolks begin to set around 70°C and can scramble if overheated or left unstirred, leaving lumps. Gentle heat and constant stirring thicken the custard smoothly.

Swap the ginger

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, milk, syrup, cream, gelatin):

  1. Nutmegfits better
  2. Cinnamonfits better
  3. Gingerthe original
  4. Tarragonfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, milk, syrup, cream, gelatin. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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