Name: Blanc-mange
Ingredients: 2 ounces gelatine or isinglass; 1½ cups water; 1 pint milk; Sugar to taste

Why it works: Milk and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and 77,875 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

Blanc-mange

Ingredients

2 ounces gelatine or isinglass
1½ cups water
1 pint milk
Sugar to taste

Directions

Make the mixture

Dissolve the gelatine or isinglass in 1½ cups of water.
Add 1 pint of milk and strain the mixture.
Sweeten and flavor to your taste, then bring to a boil.

Set

Pour the mixture into a mold and let it set until firm.

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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairs

Aroma overlaplow

Mentioned together77,875 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Milk and sugar share little aroma chemistry, yet 77,875 recipes mention both: they likely 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

Gelatine or isinglass: Sets the liquid into a firm, wobbly body as it cools.
Milk: Provides the creamy base and soft, smooth texture of the dessert.
Sugar: Sweetens the dessert and balances its mild, creamy flavor.