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 ↓
Coffee, Iced
Ingredients
Directions
Make the coffee and let it cool.
Beat the eggs lightly and add them to the coffee with the milk.
Stir in the cream and sugar to taste.
Refrigerate for 5 to 6 hours or place in a container with ice and salt to freeze.
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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Coffee + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,202 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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Coffee + creamtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,339 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
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Coffee + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,344 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Coffee
- Provides the main flavor and the base of the drink.
- Eggs
- Add richness and body, giving the drink a smoother, thicker texture.
- Milk
- Adds creaminess and softens the coffee's bitterness.
- Cream
- Adds fat for a richer mouthfeel and a silkier texture.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the coffee's bitterness.
The step that matters
Add the eggs to the cooled coffee. Beaten eggs can curdle or cook into specks when added to hot liquid. Letting the coffee cool first lets the eggs blend in smoothly, so the drink stays silky.
“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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