Why it works: Sugar and gelatin are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,778 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Water Ices
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Make a syrup by dissolving sugar in a portion of the water.
Dissolve gelatin in the syrup.
Freeze
Beat egg whites stiff and add them when the mixture is partially frozen.
Add milk when the mixture is partially frozen to enhance texture and flavor.
Freeze the mixture until solid.
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.
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Sugar + gelatintop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,778 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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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).
Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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
- Sugar
- Dissolves into the syrup to add sweetness and soften the texture of the frozen ice.
- Gelatin
- Adds body to the syrup, helping the frozen ice hold a smoother, less icy texture.
- Egg whites
- Whipped stiff and folded in, they add airy lightness to the partly frozen mixture.
- Milk
- Added partly frozen, it softens the texture and adds richness and flavor.
The step that matters
Adding egg whites and milk while partially frozen. If the mixture is fully frozen, the whites and milk cannot blend evenly, leaving lumps or icy pockets. Adding them while it is slushy lets them distribute and keeps the texture smooth and airy.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, gelatin, egg, milk):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Raisinfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, gelatin, egg, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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