Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Baked Cracker Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Soak the powdered crackers in slightly heated milk for 10 to 15 minutes.
Make the batter
Stir in the beaten egg yolks and melted butter.
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites.
Pour the mixture into a well-greased baking dish.
Bake
Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the top is nicely browned.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 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
- Powdered crackers
- Soak up the milk and form the body of the pudding.
- Eggs
- Bind the pudding and set it as it bakes, with whites adding lightness.
- Sweet milk
- Provides the liquid that softens the crackers and gives the custard its moisture.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, contributing to tenderness and flavor.
The step that matters
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites. Egg whites hold air that gives lightness. Stirring them vigorously knocks out that air, leaving a denser pudding, so fold slowly until just combined.
“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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