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 ↓
Frozen Cherries
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cherries
Combine pitted cherries, sugar, and maraschino liqueur in a bowl; let stand for 4 hours.
Make the custard
Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan until it reaches boiling point.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until very light.
Gradually pour the hot cream into the beaten eggs while whisking constantly.
Cool the mixture, then freeze it in an ice cream maker.
Finish
When nearly frozen, remove the dasher and fold in the cherries; beat until fully combined.
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).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Cream and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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 cream into a custard and add richness and structure to the frozen ice cream.
- Heavy cream
- Provides fat that makes the ice cream rich and smooth.
- Cherries
- Supply the main fruit flavor and tartness, with their juices sweetened by the sugar.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the dessert and softens the texture by lowering the freezing point.
- Maraschino liqueur
- Adds aroma and flavor that complements the cherries.
The step that matters
Gradually pour the hot cream into the beaten eggs while whisking constantly. Adding hot cream too quickly scrambles the eggs, causing lumps. Whisking constantly and pouring slowly lets the eggs warm gradually so they thicken the custard smoothly.
“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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