Why it works: Coffee and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,339 recipes. Both carry 2-heptanol, which smells bitter, floral. The science ↓
Coffee
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Grind the coffee moderately fine.
Measure 1 tablespoon of coffee for each person into a bowl. Add 1 egg white for each cup of coffee.
Mix the egg white with enough water to saturate the grounds.
Brew
Pour the mixture into a coffee pot. Add boiling water, using 1 cup for each tablespoon of coffee.
Boil briskly for 10 minutes. Add a small amount of cold water.
Let it sit for 10 minutes to settle.
Serve
Serve immediately, allowing each person to sweeten their cup as desired. Top each cup with a tablespoon of whipped cream if desired.
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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Coffee + creamtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,339 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Coffee + eggtop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,239 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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 white
- Binds the coffee grounds and clarifies the brew as it cooks, so the liquid comes out clear.
- Ground coffee
- Provides the main coffee flavour and body once steeped in boiling water.
The step that matters
Boil briskly for 10 minutes. The egg white must coagulate around the grounds during boiling so they are trapped and the liquid clears. Too gentle a boil leaves the coffee cloudy and muddy.
“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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