Why it works: Sugar and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Sugar, to Clarify
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Dissolve the sugar in the water in a large saucepan, but do not let it get very hot.
Beat the egg whites, then pour the warm syrup over them and return to the saucepan.
Clarify and strain
When the syrup boils, add ½ cup of cold water; repeat this step 3 times, using a total of 1½ cups.
Remove the pan from heat and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
Strain the mixture through a jelly bag or fine muslin and use 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.
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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 as it dissolves in the water.
- Egg whites
- Coagulate when heated and trap impurities, which are then removed by straining to clarify the syrup.
The step that matters
Adding the cold water when the syrup boils. The cold water briefly stops the boil so the cooking egg whites can set and rise, carrying impurities to the surface. Adding it too early or too fast can let the mixture boil over or cloud the syrup.
“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.
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.