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 ↓
Gooseberry Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the gooseberry pulp
Put gooseberries in a jar, cover, and set in boiling water.
When tender, pass through a sieve.
Finish and serve
Add sugar and cream, then whisk quickly until thickened.
If cream is unavailable, use milk and 1 egg instead.
Make a couple of hours before serving and keep in a cool place.
Serve in a glass dish.
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
- Gooseberries
- Provide the tart fruit pulp that gives the cream its flavour and body.
- White sugar
- Sweetens the fruit and balances its natural tartness.
- Cream
- Adds fat and richness, and whisking it thickens the mixture into a smooth cream.
The step that matters
Whisking in the cream and sugar. Whisking quickly after adding the cream helps trap air and fat so the mixture thickens into a light, smooth texture. Overwhisking or letting it warm can cause it to thin or curdle, so keep the cream cold and work briskly.
“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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