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Dessert

Zebra Pudding

A steamed pudding made with layers of bread crumbs, jam, custard, and butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Zebra Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the basin

  1. Butter a basin and sprinkle bread crumbs all over it.

  2. Add a thick layer of fine crumbs to the bottom.

Layer and moisten

  1. Spread a layer of jam over the crumbs.

  2. Repeat layering with more crumbs and jam until the basin is full.

  3. Pour custard made with 1 egg and ½ pint of milk over the layers to moisten them.

Steam

  1. Cover with buttered paper and steam for 45 minutes.

  2. Place a plate in the saucepan under the pudding to prevent sticking.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Bread + milktop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  4. Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  5. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Bread crumbs
Form the bulk of the layers and soak up the custard and jam.
Jam
Adds sweetness and fruity flavour, and forms the striped pattern between crumb layers.
Eggs
Set the custard so it binds the crumbs into a firm, sliceable pudding.
Milk
Makes the custard that moistens the crumbs and keeps the pudding tender while steaming.

The step that matters

Covering and steaming the basin. Steam gently and keep the buttered paper sealed so the custard sets evenly and the moisture stays in. A plate under the basin keeps it off the hot base of the pan and prevents sticking.

“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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