Why it works: Sugar and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 20,806 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
White Icing
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Combine sugar, boiling water, and vinegar in a saucepan.
Cook until the mixture forms a soft ball when tested in cold water.
Finish and combine
Remove from heat and add marshmallows, stirring until melted.
Pour the mixture over the stiffly beaten egg whites while beating continuously.
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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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Vinegar + eggtop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,922 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Vinegar and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,922 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
- Granulated sugar
- Forms the sweet syrup base that sets into the icing's structure as it cooks.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to foam, they give the icing its light, airy volume and body.
- Marshmallows
- Melt into the syrup, adding softness and stability to the finished icing.
- Vinegar
- Adds a little acidity that helps keep the sugar syrup smooth and stable.
The step that matters
Pour the hot syrup while beating. Pouring the hot syrup slowly into the egg whites while beating continuously cooks the whites gently and keeps the foam from collapsing, producing a smooth, glossy icing.
“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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