Why it works: Sugar and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Strawberry Foam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Crush the strawberries and sprinkle ¾ cup sugar over them.
Set the mixture in a cool place until ready to serve.
Make the foam and serve
Beat the eggs until stiff, then add 2 tablespoons sugar and stir in the crushed strawberries.
Serve decorated with large, ripe strawberries.
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.
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Strawberries
- Provide the main flavor and, once crushed, the fruit base of the foam.
- Eggs
- Whipped to stiff peaks, they create the airy, foamy structure of the dish.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the fruit and, when added to the beaten eggs, helps stabilize the foam.
The step that matters
Beating the eggs until stiff. Egg whites must be beaten until they hold stiff peaks to trap air; underbeaten eggs give a loose, flat foam, and overbeating makes it grainy and dry. Stirring in the crushed strawberries gently keeps the air trapped.
“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
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 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.