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 ↓
Whipped or German Sauce for Puddings
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Combine sherry, powdered sugar, and egg yolks in a jar.
Place the jar in a saucepan of boiling water.
Whisk the mixture until thick and frothy, ensuring it does not boil.
Serve
Serve immediately over pudding or in a tureen.
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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Sherry + sugartop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,141 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sherry + eggtop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,324 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the sauce as they gently cook, giving it a rich, smooth body.
- Sherry
- Adds a wine flavour and acidity that balances the sweetness.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the sauce and dissolves smoothly into the liquid.
The step that matters
Whisk over gently simmering water without boiling. Egg yolks scramble if they get too hot. Gentle heat from the water bath lets them thicken into a smooth, frothy sauce without curdling.
“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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