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 ↓
Snow Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Beat the egg whites to a stiff froth.
Stir in the powdered sugar, sweet wine, and rose water, then beat the mixture well.
Add the thick cream and mix until 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.
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.
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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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Wine + rosetop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together438 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Wine + creamtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,887 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and cream 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
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a stiff froth, they trap air and give the snow cream its light, airy structure.
- Thick cream
- Adds fat and richness, giving the dish body and a smooth, creamy mouthfeel.
- Powdered sugar
- Dissolves easily into the whites and adds gentle sweetness to the dish.
The step that matters
Beating the egg whites to a stiff froth. Egg whites hold air only when whipped enough to form stiff peaks. Under-whipped whites stay runny and will not give the dish its light texture, while over-whipping makes them dry and grainy.
“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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