Why it works: Sugar and cinnamon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 30,779 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Omelette Sucree
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until well combined.
Add the powdered cinnamon or flavoring essence and mix well.
In a separate bowl, beat one egg white until frothy and fold it into the yolk mixture.
Cook and serve
Heat a non-stick skillet and pour in the mixture, cooking until set.
Serve with powdered sugar on top.
For a special touch, pour rum over the omelet and ignite it before serving.
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 + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Cinnamon + rumtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together508 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Sugar + rumtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,908 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + rumtop 27% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,589 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and body, and help the omelet set softly.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to froth, they add lightness and air to the omelet.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the yolks blend smoothly.
The step that matters
Fold the frothy egg white into the yolk mixture. Folding gently keeps the air in the whipped white. Stirring hard knocks the air out, so the omelet cooks up denser and flatter.
Swap the cinnamon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, rum):
- Cinnamonthe original
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Gingerfits less well
- Allspicefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, rum. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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