Why it works: Sugar and cream 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 ↓
Ice Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Heat the milk in a dish set in hot water.
Stir in the cornstarch mixed smooth in a little of the milk.
Let it boil for 1-2 minutes, then remove from heat and cool.
Stir in the eggs and ½ pound of sugar.
For extra richness, add 1 pint of heavy cream and ¼ pound of sugar.
Strain the mixture.
When cool, add the flavoring.
Freeze and churn
Prepare the ice cream freezer as usual.
Turn the crank 100 times.
Pour 1 quart of boiling water over the ice and salt.
Fill up again with ice and salt.
Turn the crank 50 times one way and 25 times the other to scrape the cream from the sides.
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 + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Eggs
- Egg proteins set on heating, giving the custard body and a richer texture.
- Cornstarch
- Starch thickens the milk mixture so the custard becomes smooth and holds its body when frozen.
- Whole milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, supplying the main body of the ice cream.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and lowers the freezing point, keeping the ice cream softer and scoopable.
- Heavy cream
- Adds fat, which makes the ice cream richer and smoother in texture.
The step that matters
Let it boil for 1-2 minutes, then remove from heat and cool.. Cornstarch must reach a boil to fully thicken the custard; without it the base stays thin and grainy. Stopping soon after boiling avoids scrambling the eggs.
“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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