Why it works: Milk and whisky work together. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 287 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓
Egg-nog for Invalids
Ingredients
Directions
Beat the yolk and part of the egg white in a glass.
Add the sugar and beat until dissolved.
Fill the glass with milk.
Add the whisky while stirring continuously to prevent cooking the egg.
Beat the remaining egg white to a stiff froth and fold it into the mixture.
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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Milk + whiskytop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together287 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + whiskytop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,008 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk 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
- Egg
- Yolk and whites give body, richness and a light foamy top when the white is whipped.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base, adding moisture and a soft, creamy texture.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the drink and helps the beaten egg dissolve smoothly into the milk.
- Whisky
- Adds alcohol flavour and aroma, and its alcohol gives the drink a sharper, less cloying finish.
The step that matters
Adding the whisky while stirring. Alcohol added to raw egg must be stirred in continuously so it blends evenly and the egg is not left in clumps. Stirring keeps the egg moving and dispersed, which helps prevent it from cooking or curdling in the mixture.
“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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