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 ↓
Devonshire Junket
Ingredients
Directions
Turn new milk as for cheesecakes in a wide shallow dish.
When cold, pour over the top the rich cream mixed with pounded loaf sugar, brandy, and grated nutmeg.
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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Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,920 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Brandy + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,311 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Milk + brandytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,738 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- New milk
- Curdles into the set base that the cream is poured over.
- Rich cream
- Adds richness and fat for a smooth, creamy topping.
- Pounded loaf sugar
- Adds sweetness to the cream topping.
- Brandy
- Adds a warm, aromatic flavour to the cream.
- Grated nutmeg
- Adds a warm, aromatic spice note.
The step that matters
Pour the cream when the milk is cold. The milk must be fully set and cold before the cream goes on top. Pouring too early can break up the curd, so the cream mixes in instead of sitting as a distinct layer.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, cream, sugar, brandy):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegthe original
- Gingerfits less well
- Clovefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, cream, sugar, brandy. 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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