Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Ices, Ice Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Make a custard by whisking together the eggs, sugar, and milk in a saucepan over medium heat until thickened.
Remove from heat and stir in the Maraschino and vanilla.
Partly freeze the custard mixture.
Finish and freeze
Fold in the preserved cherries, citron, and whipped cream.
Close the ice cream machine and freeze until stiff.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Vanilla + creamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,301 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar and vanilla 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
- Eggs
- Thicken the custard and add richness and structure to the frozen dessert.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and softens the texture of the frozen pudding.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard that sets when cooked and frozen.
- Cream
- Adds fat and whipped volume, making the frozen pudding lighter and smoother.
- Preserved cherries
- Add sweetness, chew, and fruity flavour through the frozen pudding.
The step that matters
Cook the custard until thickened. Eggs must be heated enough to thicken the mixture, but not so far that they scramble. Stopping at the right point gives a smooth base for freezing.
“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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