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 ↓
Ano Zabaglione, an Italian Receipt
Ingredients
Directions
Make the zabaglione
In a chocolate pot, combine Marsala, sugar, and egg yolks.
Set the pot over low heat, stirring as if making chocolate.
Once the mixture begins to rise and thicken, remove it from the heat.
Serve
Serve in glasses.
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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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Wine + sugartop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together9,581 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Wine + eggtop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,918 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptenal (green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the mixture as they heat, giving the zabaglione its custard-like structure and richness.
- Marsala wine
- Adds the main flavour and liquid, and its acidity helps balance the sweetness.
- Powdered white sugar
- Sweetens the custard and dissolves easily into the wine and yolks.
The step that matters
Removing the pot from the heat at the right moment. Egg yolks thicken as they warm but can scramble if overheated. Pull the pot off the heat once the mixture rises and thickens, while it is still smooth and pourable.
“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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