Why it works: Egg and sugar 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 ↓
German Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
In a saucepan, combine the yolks of two eggs and 2 teaspoons of caster sugar.
Add ⅓ cup of sherry.
Place the saucepan over heat and whisk vigorously for about two minutes until it forms a stiff froth.
Serve
Immediately pour the sauce around the pudding.
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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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + sherrytop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,141 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Egg + sherrytop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,324 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Thicken and enrich the sauce as they heat, giving it a rich, creamy body.
- Caster sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps stabilise the whisked froth.
- Sherry
- Adds acidity and a fortified wine aroma that balances the richness of the yolks.
The step that matters
Whisk over heat until a stiff froth forms. Egg yolk proteins set when heated, so the sauce can scramble if it gets too hot or sits still. Constant vigorous whisking spreads the heat evenly and traps air, which builds the froth and keeps the yolks smooth.
“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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