Why it works: Egg and sugar 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 ↓
Custabds, Creams and Desserts
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the whites
Break the egg into a cup, separating the whites and yolks.
Strain the egg whites to remove any impurities.
Whip the meringue
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gradually add the sugar while continuing to beat until glossy.
Top and brown
Spread the meringue over the baked custard or pudding.
Smooth the meringue with a knife dipped in cold water.
Return to the oven to brown slightly.
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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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg whites
- Whipped proteins trap air and form the foam that gives the meringue its volume and structure.
- Sugar
- Dissolves into the foam to stabilize it and makes the meringue glossy and sweet.
The step that matters
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Any trace of yolk or fat in the whites prevents the proteins from forming a stable foam, so the whites will not whip up. Adding the sugar gradually helps the foam hold its shape and become glossy.
“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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