Why it works: Sugar and raisin are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,481 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Tapioca Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Soak four tablespoons of tapioca for four hours.
Combine the yolks of five eggs, four tablespoons of sugar, one cup of raisins, and flavor to taste.
Make the pudding
Boil one quart of milk and add the eggs, sugar, tapioca, and raisins, then cook a few minutes.
Pour into molds.
Finish
Place the beaten whites of eggs and sugar on top.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Grape | 1/2 cup (76g) | 62 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
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.
-
Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Raisin + milktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,155 recipes
Shared aroma: decanoic acid (acides aroma).
-
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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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).
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
- Tapioca
- Swells during soaking and cooking to thicken the milk and give the pudding its body.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard as they cook and add richness.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the tapioca and eggs thicken into a pudding.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and the topping.
- Raisins
- Add sweetness and chewy texture throughout the pudding.
- Egg whites
- Beaten and spread on top, they add a light, airy topping.
The step that matters
Adding the eggs to the boiling milk. Eggs can scramble when they meet very hot liquid. Keeping the heat moderate and stirring constantly lets the yolks thicken the pudding smoothly instead of setting in lumps.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, milk, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits about as well
- Raisinthe original
- Lemonfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, 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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