Name: Strawberry Ice Cream
Ingredients: 2 cups fresh strawberries; 1 cup powdered sugar; 1 cup strawberry jam; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; ½ cup whole milk; 1 pint heavy cream; food coloring (optional)

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 ↓

Strawberry Ice Cream

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Prepare

Wash and hull the strawberries, then place them in a bowl.

Make the base

Add powdered sugar, strawberry jam, lemon juice, and whole milk, then mix well.
Stir in the heavy cream and food coloring if desired.

Freeze

Freeze the mixture until solid, about 4-6 hours.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Lemon + milktop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,053 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Strawberry jam + milktop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together144 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,399 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together53,532 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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

Fresh strawberries: Provide the main fruit flavor and color, along with moisture and body.
Powdered sugar: Adds sweetness and lowers the freezing point, keeping the ice cream softer.
Strawberry jam: Concentrates strawberry flavor and sweetness into the base.
Heavy cream: Adds fat, which makes the ice cream rich and creamy rather than icy.
Whole milk: Adds moisture and milk solids for a smoother, softer texture.
Lemon juice: Adds acidity that brightens the strawberry flavor and balances the sweetness.