Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Ice Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the custard
Beat the eggs until light.
Mix the beaten eggs with the cream and sugar.
Strain the mixture.
Freeze
Pour it into the ice cream freezer.
Stir the mixture until it is frozen.
Break ice into small pieces.
Sprinkle coarse sea salt around the freezer, filling it tightly.
Drain off water.
Replenish with ice and salt as needed.
Wrap the freezer in newspapers.
Cover it with an old blanket.
Set aside until needed.
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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Cream and egg 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
- Cream
- Provides fat and richness, giving the frozen ice cream a smooth, creamy texture.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and lowers the freezing point, keeping the ice cream softer and scoopable.
- Eggs
- Egg proteins and yolks add richness and help emulsify the mixture for a smooth texture.
The step that matters
Freezing the mixture while stirring. The mixture must be stirred as it freezes so small ice crystals form and the texture stays smooth. Stirring also keeps the cream from setting in solid chunks against the cold walls.
“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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