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Tutti-frutti Icing

A sweet icing made from a sugar syrup, beaten egg whites, and mixed dried fruits.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Almond and raisin are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,781 recipes. Both carry 2-nonanone, which smells fruity, floral. The science ↓

Tutti-frutti Icing

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Boil water and sugar until it reaches the soft ball stage.

  2. Beat the egg whites until stiff.

  3. Pour the syrup over the egg whites while beating until cool.

  4. Fold in the chopped almonds, raisins, sliced citron, and chopped figs.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Almond + raisintop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,781 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

  2. Almond + figtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together519 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  3. Raisin + figtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together737 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,481 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Sugar + figtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,241 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Sugar
Dissolves into the boiled syrup that sets the icing's glossy, sweet body.
Egg whites
Whipped into a foam that gives the icing its light, airy structure.
Almonds
Provide chewy texture and nutty flavor throughout the icing.
Figs
Add chewy texture and concentrated fruit sweetness.
Raisins
Add chewy texture and concentrated fruit sweetness.

The step that matters

Pouring the syrup over the egg whites while beating. The syrup must be hot enough to cook the whites as it is poured while beating constantly. Beating keeps the foam from collapsing and deflating and helps the icing cool into a stable, spreadable texture.

Swap the fig

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, almond, raisin):

  1. Vanillafits about as well
  2. Figthe original
  3. Datesfits less well
  4. Coconutfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, almond, raisin. 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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