Name: Bread Pudding with Dried Cherries
Ingredients: 10 slc French bread (approximately 5 cups cubed); 3 lrg eggs; 1 1/4 cup sugar; 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract; 1 1/4 tsp nutmeg; 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon; 2tbl unsalted butter; 2 cup skim milk; 1 cup dried cherries; 1 tsp grated lemon zest; Low-fat vanilla frozen yogurt (optional)

Why it works: Nutmeg and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

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.

Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,917 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Vanilla + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,287 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
Vanilla + milktop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,187 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Bind the bread and set the custard as it bakes, giving the pudding its structure.
French bread: Soaks up the custard and forms the pudding's soft, sponge-like body.
Milk: Provides the liquid that soaks the bread and cooks into a creamy custard.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps the top brown during baking.
Unsalted butter: Adds richness and fat, softening the crumb and aiding browning.
Dried cherries: Add chewy pockets of fruit sweetness and tartness throughout the pudding.

The step that matters

Letting the bread rest and soak. Dry bread needs time to absorb the custard fully. Patting it down keeps cubes submerged so the centre bakes evenly rather than leaving dry, floury pockets or a soggy layer.

“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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Frozen Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Cherry	1 cup (138g)	87
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6

Bread Pudding with Dried Cherries