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 ↓
Vanilla Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Heat the gelatin gradually in 1 pint of milk.
In another 2 pints of boiling milk, stir in the well-beaten yolks and granulated sugar.
When it thickens, remove from heat.
Stir in the remaining milk and gelatin.
Set aside to cool.
Finish and chill
Beat until cold.
Add the vanilla and the beaten egg whites mixed with powdered sugar, stirring lightly.
Chill on ice 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.
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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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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
- Milk
- Forms the body of the cream and carries the sweetness and flavour.
- Gelatine
- Sets the cooled mixture so it holds its shape when served.
- Eggs
- Yolks thicken the hot milk into a custard; whites are beaten in for lightness.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the custard and helps balance the richness of the eggs.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the beaten egg whites, which dissolve it easily when folded in.
The step that matters
When it thickens, remove from heat.. Egg yolks set at around 70 to 80 degrees Celsius and will curdle or scramble if overheated. Pulling the custard off the heat as soon as it thickens keeps it smooth.
“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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