Why it works: Raisin and almond are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,781 recipes. Both carry 2-nonanone, which smells fruity, floral. The science ↓
Ice Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Heat 1 pint of cream in a double boiler until boiling.
Beat together the egg yolks and ¼ cup of powdered sugar in a bowl.
Slowly mix the hot cream into the egg mixture, stirring gently until thickened (about 3 minutes).
Remove from heat and let cool.
Finish and freeze
Once cool, add the remaining sugar, cream, and vanilla extract.
When the mixture is partly frozen, fold in the chopped almonds and raisins.
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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Raisin + almondtop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,781 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
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Almond + vanillatop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,961 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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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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Raisin + vanillatop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together782 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard as they set with gentle heat, giving the base body and richness.
- Cream
- Provides fat and richness, giving the ice cream its smooth, creamy texture.
- Powdered sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps keep the frozen texture soft rather than icy.
- Chopped almonds
- Add crunch and a nutty flavor that contrasts with the smooth base.
- Raisins
- Add chewy sweetness and bursts of fruity flavor through the frozen base.
The step that matters
Thicken the custard gently. Egg yolks scramble if they get too hot. Stirring the hot cream in slowly and keeping the heat gentle lets the custard thicken smoothly instead of turning grainy.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, sugar, almond, vanilla, egg):
- Figfits better
- Coconutfits better
- Raspberryfits about as well
- Raisinthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, sugar, almond, vanilla, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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