Why it works: Chocolate and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,404 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Coffee, Chocolate, Etc
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
In a mortar, rasp or break the chocolate into small pieces.
Combine the chocolate with cold water in a saucepan over low heat.
Stir gently until the mixture is smooth like custard.
Serve
Pour the chocolate into deep cups.
Serve with a glass of sugar and iced water for each cup, along with plates of dried toast or ladies' fingers.
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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Chocolate + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Chocolate
- Provides the main flavour and, melted into the water, gives the drink its body.
- Cold water
- Forms the liquid base, which the chocolate melts into over gentle heat.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness, served on the side so each cup can be sweetened to taste.
The step that matters
Stirring gently over low heat. Chocolate can seize or scorch if heated too fast, so low heat and gentle stirring let it melt into a smooth, custard-like mixture.
“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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