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 ↓
Caramel Custard
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
In a double boiler, combine the milk, white sugar, and salt.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs without separating them.
Wet the cornstarch with a little cold milk.
In a tin pan, heat the brown sugar over the fire, stirring until it is scorched but not burned.
Pour the hot milk mixture onto the beaten eggs.
Return the mixture to the double boiler and stir in the cornstarch until thickened.
Stir in the scorched sugar and remove from heat.
Add a generous amount of vanilla extract.
Serve
Pour into custard glasses and serve cold.
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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Sugar + eggtop 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
- Eggs
- Beaten eggs set the custard and give it a rich, tender body when gently heated.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the milk mixture as it heats, giving the custard a smooth, sliceable texture.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard and provides its creamy moisture.
- Brown sugar
- Scorched in a pan, it adds caramel flavor and a deeper color to the custard.
- White sugar
- Sweetens the milk base and helps give the custard its smooth texture.
The step that matters
Pour the hot milk mixture onto the beaten eggs. Adding hot liquid to eggs too quickly can scramble them. Pouring slowly while whisking gently warms the eggs evenly so the custard stays 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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