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 ↓
Coffee Cream
Ingredients
Directions
In a saucepan, combine the brewed coffee and heavy cream.
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.
Reduce the heat and simmer until the mixture is reduced by half.
Sweeten with sugar to taste 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.
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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Coffee + creamtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,339 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
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Coffee + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,344 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Brewed coffee
- Provides the main coffee flavor, which concentrates as the liquid reduces.
- Heavy cream
- Adds fat for richness and a smooth, thick body as the mixture reduces.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the bitterness of the coffee.
The step that matters
Simmering until reduced by half. As water evaporates, the mixture thickens and its flavor concentrates. Cream scorches easily on the pan bottom at a steady simmer, so the heat must stay low enough to prevent burning.
“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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