Name: Apple Bread Pudding
Ingredients: 3 cups 1% milk; 4 slightly beaten eggs; ½ cup + 2 tablespoons sugar; 1 cup applesauce; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon vanilla; ¾ teaspoon cinnamon; ½ cup raisins; 1 cup (4 ounces) peeled, cored, and diced apples; 1 tablespoon margarine; 3 cups dried, cubed bread

Why it works: Cinnamon and raisin are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,390 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. 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.

Cinnamon + raisintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,390 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Vanilla + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,287 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
Cinnamon + appletop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,598 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,187 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Vanilla + appletop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,501 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Set the custard so the pudding firms as it bakes.
Dried bread: Soaks up the custard and forms the body of the pudding.
Milk: Forms the liquid base of the custard and keeps the pudding moist.
Applesauce: Adds moisture and apple flavor throughout the pudding.
Sugar: Sweetens the custard and balances the cinnamon and apple.

The step that matters

Baking in a water bath. The pan sits in a larger pan of water so the custard heats gently. Gentle heat keeps the eggs from overcooking, which would make the pudding grainy or rubbery.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, egg, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, raisin, bread):

Figfits better
Peachfits about as well
Pearfits about as well
Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, egg, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, raisin, bread. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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
Apple	1 medium (182g)	95
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Apple Bread Pudding