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 ↓
Cream Nectar
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.
Prepare the syrup
Combine 1 gallon water, 8 pounds loaf sugar, 8 ounces tartaric acid, and 1 ounce gum arabic in a kettle. Heat on the fire.
Mix 4 teaspoons flour with beaten egg whites and ½ pint water in a separate bowl.
When the kettle mixture is blood warm, add the flour and egg mixture. Boil for 3 minutes.
Finish and serve
Mix 3 tablespoons syrup with a glass half or two-thirds full of water and add ⅓ teaspoon fine supercarbonate of soda. Stir well and enjoy.
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.
-
Sugar + syruptop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,842 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + syruptop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,540 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
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, tart flavour.
- Egg whites
- Beaten whites help clarify the mixture as they set and are skimmed or strained out.
- Supercarbonate of soda
- Reacts with the acid to release carbon dioxide, making the drink fizz.
The step that matters
Adding the supercarbonate of soda. Soda reacts with the acid immediately, releasing carbon dioxide. Adding it too early or stirring slowly lets the fizz escape, so it should be stirred in well and drunk promptly.
“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.
You might also like
Orange Syrup47 recipes
Orgeat Syrup13 recipes
Simple Syrup13 recipes
Vegetable Soup350 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.