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 ↓
Almond Pudding-
Ingredients
Directions
Make the pudding
Blanch and pound thirty sweet almonds and fifteen bitter almonds.
Mix the blanched almonds with three tablespoonfuls of corn starch, the yolks of three eggs, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, a pinch of salt, and a little cold milk.
Add one quart of milk, heat to boiling, and pour the mixture into the pudding dish when it just boils.
If bitter almonds cannot be found, use the extract at discretion.
Top and brown
Drop the beaten whites, mixed with three tablespoonfuls of sugar, in hillocks on top of the pudding.
Brown in the oven.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| 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.
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).
-
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Corn + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,168 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Corn starch
- Thickens the milk into a smooth, sliceable custard as it heats.
- Eggs
- Yolks help set and enrich the custard; beaten whites give the topping its light, airy structure.
- Almonds (in the method)
- Provide the characteristic nutty almond flavor of the pudding.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, giving it body and creaminess.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and helps the beaten whites hold their shape.
The step that matters
Pour the custard when it just boils. Starch thickens as it heats, so the mixture must be removed once it reaches a boil. Overcooking can leave it lumpy or stiff, while underheating means the starch will not fully thicken.
“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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