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 ↓
Angels Food
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Make a custard by heating the milk and dissolving the gelatine in it.
Whisk in the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla to taste.
Set and serve
Beat the egg whites until very stiff and fold them into the custard.
Pour the mixture into a mold and refrigerate until set.
Turn out the custard and serve with cream.
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
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that gives the custard its creamy body.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and help thicken and smooth the custard.
- Gelatine
- Sets the custard so it holds its shape when turned out.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into foam, they lighten the custard and give it an airy texture.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the richness of the eggs and milk.
The step that matters
Folding the beaten egg whites into the custard. Fold gently so the whipped foam keeps its air, which gives the dessert its light texture. Stirring hard or adding whites to a custard that has begun to set will deflate the foam or leave streaks.
“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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