Why it works: Cream and sugar 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 ↓
Strawberry Ice Cream
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Make the base
Combine the cream, milk, and sugar in a bowl and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Mash the strawberries and mix them into the cream mixture.
Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
Churn and freeze
Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Freeze until firm.
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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Cream + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 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
- Heavy cream
- Adds fat, which makes the ice cream rich and smooth.
- Milk
- Provides liquid and dairy solids that give body to the base.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the base and lowers its freezing point, keeping the ice cream scoopable.
- Strawberries
- Supply flavor, color, and extra moisture to the base.
The step that matters
Chill the mixture before churning. A cold base freezes quickly in the machine, forming small ice crystals and a smoother texture. Sugar must be fully dissolved first so it does not grain or crystallize.
“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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