Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Coffee Cream, Much Admired
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the jelly and coffee
Boil the calf's foot in water until it reduces to 1 pint of jelly, clear of sediment and fat.
Make a cup of very strong coffee and clarify it with isinglass until bright.
Combine and set
Combine the jelly with the coffee and add 1 pint of heavy cream and sugar to taste.
Bring to a boil and pour into a dish. It should set as a jelly but not be too stiff.
Ensure your coffee is fresh.
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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Coffee + creamtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,339 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
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Coffee + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,344 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Calf's foot
- Supplies gelatin, which sets the liquid into a jelly as it cools.
- Isinglass
- Collagen-based gelling agent that sets the jelly and clarifies the coffee.
- Strong coffee
- Provides the main flavour and a bitter edge that balances the sweetness.
- Heavy cream
- Adds fat for a rich, smooth texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the dish and balances the bitterness of the coffee.
The step that matters
Bring to a boil and pour into a dish. Gelatin sets according to its concentration, so the mixture must be fully dissolved and poured while still liquid. Boiling too long can make it overly concentrated and stiff, and boiling cream can cause it to separate, so heat only until it just boils.
“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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