Why it works: Sugar and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Cream Soda
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
In a large pot, combine tartaric acid, sugar, and water.
Boil for 4 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the beaten egg whites and continue stirring.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Flavor and store
Flavor with vanilla.
Cork tightly and store.
Serve
To serve, mix 2 tablespoons of the syrup with a glass of ice water and stir in a pinch of baking soda.
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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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + vanillatop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together27,347 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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
- Tartaric acid
- Provides the sharp, tart bite and reacts with baking soda to create fizz.
- Sugar
- Provides sweetness and body to the syrup.
- Egg whites
- Coagulate in the hot syrup, helping to clarify it as they are stirred in.
- Vanilla
- Adds aroma and a sweet, rounded flavor.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the tartaric acid to release carbon dioxide, producing fizz.
The step that matters
Add the beaten egg whites and keep stirring. Egg whites must be stirred into the hot syrup so they disperse evenly before they set. Continued stirring keeps them from clumping and helps them coagulate and clarify the syrup.
“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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