Why it works: Sugar and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Boiled Frosting
Ingredients
Directions
Boil sugar with a little water until it forms a soft ball when dropped in cold water.
Beat the egg whites until stiff.
Gradually add the hot syrup to the beaten egg whites while continuing to beat until well combined.
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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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Dissolves and boils into a syrup that sets and sweetens the frosting.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a foam that gives the frosting its light, airy structure.
The step that matters
Adding the hot syrup to the egg whites. The syrup must be added slowly in a thin stream while beating constantly. Pouring it in too fast can deflate the whipped foam, and the hot syrup gently cooks the egg whites as it blends in, which helps the frosting hold its shape.
“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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