Why it works: Brandy and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,738 recipes. Both carry gamma-nonanolactone, which smells coconut, sweet. The science ↓
To Serve a Raw Egg
Ingredients
Directions
Beat the egg until very light.
Pour the egg into a glass.
Add the brandy or whisky and loaf sugar.
Fill the glass with rich milk.
Stir gently to combine.
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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Brandy + milktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,738 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Egg + brandytop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,340 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Brandy + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg
- Beaten egg gives the drink a light, creamy body and a silky mouthfeel.
- Brandy or whisky
- Adds alcohol flavour and aroma that cuts through the richness of the milk and egg.
- Loaf sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the alcohol and the savoury edge of the egg.
- Rich milk
- Provides the bulk of the liquid and a soft, creamy texture.
The step that matters
Beat the egg until very light. Beating incorporates air and breaks up the egg white and yolk so the drink becomes smooth and frothy rather than streaky. Under-beaten egg leaves a thin, uneven texture.
“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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