Why it works: Gelatin and cream match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,628 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Spanish Custard
Ingredients
Directions
Soak the gelatin in cold water, then dissolve it in boiling water.
Beat the egg yolks, sugar, and salt together.
Scald the cream and pour it over the egg and sugar mixture.
Return to a double boiler and cook until it thickens.
Add the dissolved gelatin and egg whites, then remove from heat.
Flavor with essence, wine, or preserved orange/lemon peel.
Mold 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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Gelatin + creamtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,628 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Cream + winetop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,887 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Gelatin + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,449 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Gelatin + winetop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together176 recipes
Shared aroma: maltol (caramel, sweet).
Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
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