Why it works: White wine and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,832 recipes. Both carry myrcene, which smells balsamic, herbaceous. The science ↓
Caramel Custard
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the custard base
Combine wine, lemon peel or cinnamon, and about ½ cup of sugar in a saucepan.
Bring the mixture to a slow boil.
Beat the egg yolks until creamy.
Once the wine boils, remove it from heat and pour it gently over the yolks, stirring briskly.
Adjust sweetness with more sugar if needed.
Bake and serve
Prepare small custard cups in a baking pan.
Strain the custard mixture into the cups.
Pour boiling water into the baking pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cups.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 10 to 12 minutes until set, but do not overbake.
Serve very cold.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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White wine + lemontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,832 recipes
Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
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Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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White wine + sugartop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,586 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Lemon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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
- Thicken the custard as they set, giving it a rich, smooth body.
- White wine
- Provides the liquid base and a light acidic, aromatic flavour.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and balances the acidity of the wine.
The step that matters
Bake until just set, not overbaked. Egg proteins coagulate as the custard heats. Overbaking pushes them too far, squeezing out liquid and producing a grainy, curdled texture. Removing it once just set keeps it smooth and creamy.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (white wine, egg, sugar):
- Vanillafits about as well
- Lemonthe original
- Applefits less well
- Plumfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against white wine, egg, sugar. 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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