Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
The Queen of Puddings
Ingredients
Directions
Make the pudding
Combine one pint bread crumbs, one quart sweet milk, one cup sugar, yolks of four eggs, rind of a fresh lemon grated fine, and a piece of butter the size of a hen egg; bake until done.
Beat the four whites to a stiff froth, adding one tea-cupful sugar; stir in the juice of one lemon.
Top and brown
When the pudding is baked, spread a layer of acid jelly over, then the meringue; set in the oven to brown slightly.
Serve
Serve with cold cream.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| 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.
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Tea + lemontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together610 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Bread + milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
-
Milk + teatop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together738 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Bread crumbs
- Provides the bulk and body that holds the pudding together.
- Eggs
- Yolks set the custard, while whipped whites give the meringue its light structure.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that bakes into a soft, moist custard.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps stabilise the whipped whites in the meringue.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a softer, more tender texture.
- Lemon
- Adds bright acidity and aroma that cut the sweetness of the pudding.
The step that matters
Browning the meringue. Whites must be beaten to a stiff froth so the meringue holds its shape. Brief baking browns the sugar in the foam; too long in the oven can toughen or weep the meringue and overcook the custard beneath.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, milk, sugar, butter, egg, tea):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits about as well
- Peachfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against bread, milk, sugar, butter, egg, tea. 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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