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 ↓
Caramel Custard
Ingredients
Directions
Make the caramel and milk
Burn 2 tablespoons of brown sugar in a tin cup until caramelized.
Stir the caramel into 1 quart of boiling milk.
Thicken and finish
Beat together 5 egg yolks and 3 tablespoons of white sugar.
Stir the egg mixture into the boiling milk immediately after adding the caramel.
Let it come to a quick boil, then remove from heat and strain.
Flavor with vanilla extract and serve with macaroons or other cake.
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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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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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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
- Egg yolks
- Proteins set when heated, thickening the milk into a custard.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the egg yolks thicken into custard.
- Brown sugar
- Caramelizes to give the custard its deep, toasted flavor and color.
- White sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the richness of the yolks and milk.
The step that matters
Adding the egg mixture to the boiling milk. Egg yolk proteins set when heated, so they can curdle or turn grainy if the mixture overheats or is not stirred well. Straining after the quick boil removes any small set bits and keeps the custard smooth.
“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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