Why it works: Vanilla and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Vanilla Sugar for Puddings
Ingredients
Directions
Cut the vanilla sticks into small pieces.
Pound the pieces in a mortar with ½ pound of lump sugar.
Pass the mixture through a fine sieve.
Beat the remaining dregs with another ½ pound of lump sugar and sieve again.
Store the vanilla sugar in a canister for future use.
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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Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Vanilla and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Vanilla sticks
- Provide the flavour that infuses into the sugar as the pieces are ground.
- Lump sugar
- Acts as an abrasive when pounded and carries the vanilla aroma through the mixture.
The step that matters
Pounding the vanilla with sugar. Vanilla pieces must be broken down finely so the sugar can absorb their aromatic compounds evenly. Coarse pieces leave uneven flavour and leftover dregs, which is why the mixture is sieved and the dregs are worked again with fresh sugar.
“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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