Why it works: Sugar and cream 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 ↓
Ice Ceeam
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard base
In a saucepan, combine milk, egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch.
Scald the mixture over medium heat until it thickens.
Allow the mixture to cool.
Finish and freeze
Fold in the whipped cream and beaten egg whites.
Sweeten and flavor to taste, then freeze until solid.
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 + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar 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 yolks
- Thicken the custard and add richness as they set with heat.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the milk mixture so it holds body when scalded and cooled.
- Whipped cream
- Adds fat and air, giving the frozen ice cream a light, creamy texture.
- Egg whites
- Folded in for air and lightness, helping the ice cream stay tender.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the base and softens the frozen texture.
The step that matters
Scald the mixture until it thickens. Heat must be gentle and the mixture stirred, because overheating egg yolks can scramble them into lumps. Cornstarch needs to reach a simmer to thicken fully.
“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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