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 ↓
To Clarify Sugar, or Caramel
Ingredients
Directions
Combine 4 pounds loaf sugar and 2 quarts water in a preserving pan.
Heat the mixture and add the beaten egg whites mixed with ½ pint water.
Once the syrup boils, skim it clean.
Let it simmer until perfectly clear.
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 + 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
- Forms the syrup base and, once cooked further, provides the caramel's sweetness and colour.
- Egg whites
- Coagulate as they heat, trapping impurities so they can be skimmed off, leaving the syrup clear.
The step that matters
Skimming the syrup as it boils. Egg whites rise with impurities as the syrup heats. Skimming them off promptly keeps the syrup clear; leftover solids can cloud it or give a bitter, muddy 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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