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 ↓
Peppermint Drops, Another Way
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the powdered sugar with the egg whites.
Add the peppermint oil and beat well.
Use a piping bag to drop the mixture onto writing paper.
Allow to dry completely.
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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Sugar + pepperminttop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,082 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Egg + pepperminttop 35% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together850 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Powdered loaf sugar
- Sweetens the mixture and, with the egg whites, sets into a firm, crisp drop as it dries.
- Egg whites
- Give the mixture body and structure so it holds its shape when piped and dries crisp.
- Peppermint oil
- Provides the mint aroma and flavor that defines the drops.
The step that matters
Allow to dry completely. As water evaporates from the sugar and egg white mixture, it hardens into a crisp candy-like set. If the drops are moved or eaten before they are fully dry, they stay soft, tacky, or sticky.
Swap the peppermint
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerfits better
- Peppermintthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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