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 Indian Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the batter
Combine seven spoons of Indian meal, two spoons of butter, one-half teaspoon salt, one teacup molasses, and ginger or cinnamon to taste.
Pour a quart of boiling hot milk into the mixture.
Mix well and transfer to a buttered dish.
Stir in a teacup of cold water before baking.
Bake
Bake for three-quarters of an hour.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Molasses | 1 tbsp (20g) | 58 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Milk + molassestop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,243 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
-
Butter + molassestop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,123 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Indian meal
- Starch that thickens the boiling milk and gives the pudding its body.
- Milk
- Provides the main liquid and, as it cooks, sets the pudding with a soft, creamy texture.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, deep color and a rich, slightly bitter flavor.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smoother mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Pour the boiling hot milk into the mixture. Hot liquid gelatinizes the starch in the Indian meal, which thickens the mixture. Milk that is not hot enough may leave the batter thin or grainy.
“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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