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 ↓
Fritters Souffles K LA Vanille
Ingredients
Directions
Make the paste
Infuse the vanilla bean in boiling milk and reduce to half.
Remove the vanilla bean and add butter; bring to a boil.
Stir in sifted flour to form a stiff paste that doesn't stick to the pan.
Transfer to another vessel; mix in powdered sugar, egg yolks, and salt.
Shape and fry
Beat the egg white to stiff peaks and fold in with whipped cream.
Roll the mixture on a floured surface and cut into walnut-sized pieces.
Drop pieces into very hot fat and fry for 3 minutes until golden.
Serve
Arrange on a napkin and dust with powdered sugar before serving.
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.
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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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Vanilla + sugartop 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).
Vanilla and sugar 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
- Flour
- Forms a stiff paste that gives the fritters their structure as it sets.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the paste and add richness and tenderness to the batter.
- Egg white
- Beaten to stiff peaks, it traps air and lightens the mixture for a soufflé-like texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, softening the texture of the paste.
- Whipped cream
- Adds moisture and airiness, keeping the centre light and tender.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base, which is reduced to concentrate flavour and body.
The step that matters
Beating the egg white to stiff peaks. Under-whipped egg white will not hold air, so the mixture stays dense; over-whipped egg white turns grainy and collapses, so it should be folded in gently.
“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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