Why it works: Coffee and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,202 recipes. Both carry 4-heptenal, which smells creamy, biscuit. The science ↓
Cafe Au Lait
Ingredients
Directions
Mix coffee, cold water, and salt in a saucepan.
Heat the mixture slowly until it reaches a boil.
Add cold milk and bring to a boil again.
Strain the mixture and serve.
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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Coffee + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,202 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Coffee
- Supplies the bold flavour and aroma that define the drink.
- Milk
- Adds richness and body, softening the coffee's bitterness with its sweetness and fat.
The step that matters
Bringing the milk to a boil again. Milk proteins and sugars can scorch on the bottom of the pan or form a skin and boil over if heated too fast. Heating gently while stirring keeps the milk smooth and prevents a burnt taste.
“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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