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
Scald the milk in a saucepan, but do not boil.
In a separate bowl, mix the egg yolks with the sugar and cornstarch.
Combine the milk mixture with the egg mixture, stirring well.
Whip and fold
In another bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Fold the whipped egg whites into the cream.
Finish and freeze
Mix the milk and cream together, add flavoring, and freeze.
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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Sugar + creamtop 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 gentle heat.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the custard base so the mixture becomes smooth and body-rich.
- Egg whites
- Trap air when whipped, giving the mixture a light, airy texture.
- Cream
- Adds fat, which makes the frozen ice cream smooth and creamy rather than icy.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and lowers the freezing point, keeping the texture softer.
- Milk
- Supplies liquid and milk solids that form the base of the custard.
The step that matters
Combining the milk with the egg mixture. Hot milk poured into egg yolks can scramble them. Adding the milk gradually while stirring constantly warms the yolks slowly, so the custard thickens smoothly instead of turning grainy.
“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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