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 ↓
Syrup for Water Ices
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
In a copper sugar-boiler or stewpan, combine the sugar, cream of tartar, water, egg white (whisked), and egg shell.
Boil the mixture until it reduces to a syrup.
Strain the syrup and let it cool.
Use
Use the syrup as needed.
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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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Cream and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
- Loaf sugar
- Provides the sweetness and body of the syrup.
- Egg white
- Whisked into the mixture, it helps collect and lift impurities so the syrup can be strained clear.
- Cream of tartar
- Adds acidity that helps keep the sugar from crystallising in the syrup.
The step that matters
Boil until reduced to a syrup. Boiling drives off water so the sugar concentrates into a syrup. Boiling too briefly leaves it too thin, while overcooking can caramelise the sugar and darken its flavour.
“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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