Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Fruit Blanc Mange
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Stew the fresh or canned fruit until soft.
Strain off the juice and sweeten to taste.
Make the blanc mange
Heat the juice in a double boiler until it boils.
Mix cornstarch with a little cold water and stir into the boiling juice.
Continue stirring until thickened.
Pour into molds that have been wet with cold water and let cool.
Serve
Serve with cream and sugar.
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 + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the juice into a set custard as it heats and gels when cooled.
- Fruit
- Provides the main flavour and colour of the blanc mange.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, creamy texture when served.
The step that matters
Continue stirring until thickened. Cornstarch can clump or scorch if left unstirred while the juice boils, and it must be fully cooked and stirred to reach a smooth, properly thickened texture.
“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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