Why it works: Vanilla and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,301 recipes. Both carry 2-nonanone, which smells fruity, floral. The science ↓
Rice Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Melt the gelatine over low heat and pour it into the vanilla cream carefully.
Whip the egg white to stiff peaks and gently fold it into the cream without deflating.
Split the ladyfingers and cut them to fit a pint soufflé tin, placing them upright around the edges.
Skewer the cherries, dip them in cold water, and arrange them fancifully at the bottom of the tin.
Once the cream begins to thicken, pour it into the mold carefully to avoid disturbing the ladyfingers.
Refrigerate until firm, then carefully turn out onto a dessert dish, ensuring the shape and cherries remain intact.
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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Vanilla + creamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,301 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
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Vanilla + eggtop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together27,347 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Vanilla and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,301 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
Swap the vanilla
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, egg):
- Vanillathe original
- Raspberryfits about as well
- Strawberryfits less well
- Coconutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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