Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and 43,450 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Cocoanut Blanc Mange
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Bring 1 quart of sweet milk to a boil.
Stir in 1 grated coconut and 3 tablespoons of corn starch mixed with enough cold water to dissolve.
Add sugar to taste and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and stir in the beaten whites of 4 eggs.
Chill and serve
Pour into a mold and refrigerate until cold.
Serve with cream.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar share little aroma chemistry, yet 77,875 recipes mention both: they likely 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
- Sweet milk
- Forms the liquid base that the custard is made from and gives it its creamy body.
- Grated coconut
- Adds coconut flavor and richness to the custard.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the hot milk so the custard sets firm when chilled.
- Egg whites
- Add airy lightness and help the custard hold a delicate, set texture.
The step that matters
Adding the egg whites off the heat. Stirring beaten whites into a very hot mixture can cause them to cook unevenly or deflate. Removing the pan from heat first lets them blend in gently and keeps the texture smooth and light.
“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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