Why it works: Sugar and syrup match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,842 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Turkish Cream Nectar
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup base
In a large pot, combine 1 gallon of water, 6 lbs of loaf sugar, 6 oz of tartaric acid, and 1 oz of gum arabic.
In a separate bowl, beat 4 teaspoons of flour with the whites of 4 eggs until finely mixed, then add ½ pint of water.
When the first mixture is blood warm, add the second mixture and boil for 3 minutes.
Serve
To serve, mix 3 tablespoons of the syrup with a glass half or two-thirds full of water, and add ½ teaspoon of fine super-carbonate of soda.
Stir well and enjoy at your leisure.
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 + syruptop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,842 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + syruptop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,540 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Loaf sugar
- Provides sweetness and the bulk of the syrup body.
- Tartaric acid
- Adds acidity, giving the drink its sharp, tangy flavour.
- Gum arabic
- Thickens the liquid and gives it a smooth, full mouthfeel.
- Whites of 4 eggs
- Whipped proteins add foam and a light, creamy texture.
- Super-carbonate of soda
- Reacts with the acid to release carbon dioxide, making the drink fizz.
The step that matters
Adding the egg-white mixture at blood warm. If the syrup is too hot, the egg proteins can cook and clump instead of blending smoothly. Waiting until it is only blood warm keeps the mixture smooth before boiling.
“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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