Why it works: Sweet potato and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 414 recipes. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. The science ↓
Sweet Potato Pudding-
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the potatoes
Boil one pound of sweet potatoes until very tender.
Rub the hot sweet potatoes through a colander.
Make the filling
Add six eggs well beaten, half a pound of butter, three quarters of a pound of powdered sugar, one grated nutmeg, some lemon peel, and a wine glass of brandy to the potatoes.
Line a dish with paste, and fill with the mixture.
Bake and finish
When done, sprinkle the top with sugar.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Potato | 1 medium (173g) baked | 161 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
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.
-
Sweet potato + nutmegtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together414 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
-
Nutmeg + lemontop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Sweet potato + lemontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together314 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together24,377 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sweet potatoes
- Provide the bulk and body of the pudding, with moisture and a soft texture.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and set it into a firm, sliceable pudding when cooked.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving a tender, smooth texture.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the filling and dissolves smoothly into the warm potato.
- Nutmeg
- Adds warm, aromatic spice flavour.
The step that matters
Adding the eggs to the potato. The well-beaten eggs must be blended evenly into the warm potato. If they are not fully combined, the pudding can set unevenly, with lumps or pockets of egg, instead of a smooth, uniform texture.
Swap the sweet potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, nutmeg, lemon):
- Shallotfits about as well
- Sweet potatothe original
- Arrowrootfits about as well
- Leekfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, nutmeg, lemon. 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.
More sweet potato pudding recipes
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Deep-Fried Potato Balls119 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.