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 ↓
Egg-nog
Ingredients
Directions
Make the base
Beat the egg yolks in a bowl until thoroughly mixed.
Add the whisky and mix well.
Stir in the granulated sugar until dissolved.
Fold together
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the egg yolk mixture.
Finally, fold in the beaten egg whites 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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Whisky + creamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together258 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Whisky + sugartop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,008 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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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 yolks
- Add richness and emulsify with the whisky and sugar to give a smooth, creamy body.
- Whisky
- Adds flavour and aroma and thins the mixture slightly.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the drink and helps balance the alcohol.
- Whipped cream
- Adds fat and air, giving a light, fluffy texture.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to stiff peaks, they trap air and lighten the texture.
The step that matters
Fold in the beaten egg whites gently. Whipped egg whites and cream hold air in their structure. Stirring vigorously deflates them, making the eggnog heavy and dense instead of light and fluffy.
“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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