Why it works: Corn and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,955 recipes. Both carry hexanal, which smells green, grassy. The science ↓
Snow Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the pudding
Dissolve one-half box of Coxe's gelatine in one pint of boiling hot water.
When nearly cool, add one cup sugar, juice of one lemon, strain, add whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth, beat all thoroughly, and quickly pour into mould.
Serve
Serve cold with soft custard made of the yolks of three eggs, and one-half teaspoon corn starch stirred in one pint of boiling milk; sweeten to taste.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Water | not in our table | 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.
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.
-
Corn + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
-
Corn + lemontop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,927 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Lemon and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 44,316 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
- Gelatine
- Sets the liquid so the pudding holds its shape when cold.
- Egg whites
- Beaten to a stiff froth, they give the pudding its light, airy texture.
- Lemon
- Its juice adds acidity that brightens the sweet, mild pudding.
- Sugar (in the method)
- Adds sweetness to the pudding and the custard.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich and thicken the custard, giving it a smooth, rich body.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the milk in the custard so it becomes smooth and pourable.
The step that matters
Adding the whites and pouring quickly when nearly cool. Gelatine begins to set as the mixture cools, so if it is too cold or left too long, the whites will not blend evenly and the pudding may set unevenly. Beating thoroughly and pouring promptly keeps the foam distributed and the set uniform.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (corn, milk, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Figfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against corn, milk, egg. 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.
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