Why it works: Egg and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Cocoanut Macaroons II
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Beat the egg white until very stiff.
Mix the shredded cocoanut, icing sugar, and cornstarch together.
Add the mixture to the egg white and mix well.
Bake
Drop by teaspoons onto a buttered baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C).
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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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg white
- Whipped to stiff peaks, it gives the macaroons their light, airy structure.
- Shredded cocoanut
- Forms the bulk of the cookie and provides chewy texture and coconut flavor.
- Icing sugar
- Adds sweetness and dissolves easily into the whipped white for a smooth mixture.
- Cornstarch
- Stabilizes the mixture and helps the cookies hold their shape while baking.
The step that matters
Adding the mixture to the egg white. Folding gently keeps the air in the whipped egg white. Overmixing deflates the foam, so the macaroons spread flat and turn out dense instead of light.
“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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