Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Norwegian Puddings
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slack 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).
Make the batter
In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in the ground rice and flour.
Add the baking powder and desired flavoring.
Bake
Pour the mixture into buttered cups.
Bake in the oven or steam until set.
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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + ricetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,645 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Rice + flourtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,611 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Butter
- Adds richness and tenderness, and helps the batter cream into a light base.
- Sugar
- Creams with the butter to add sweetness and help trap air in the batter.
- Eggs
- Provide structure as they set, binding the pudding together.
- Ground rice
- Gives a tender, slightly crumbly texture to the pudding.
- Flour
- Adds structure, helping the pudding hold its shape when set.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the pudding rise and become light.
The step that matters
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Adding eggs gradually lets each one emulsify fully into the creamed butter and sugar. Adding them all at once can cause the mixture to curdle and lose the air it needs to rise.
“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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