Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Delmonico's Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Combine five eggs, three tablespoons of pulverized sugar, two and one-half tablespoons of corn starch, and two and one-half pints of sweet milk.
Beat the eggs and sugar very lightly, leaving out three egg whites for the meringue.
Stir in the corn starch.
Bring the milk to a boil, and while it is boiling stir in the mixture rapidly.
When the mixture is thickened, pour it into a pudding dish and place it in the stove for one minute.
Make the meringue and finish
In a separate bowl, combine six tablespoons of pulverized sugar, the three egg whites, and one-half teaspoon of vanilla; beat to a stiff icing.
Place the icing on top of the pudding and brown it lightly.
Add one teaspoon of vanilla to the pudding before baking it.
Let the pudding cool completely and serve with cold cream.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
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 |
| Vanilla | 1 tsp extract (4ml) | 12 |
| Pudding | 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.
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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Corn + vanillatop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,943 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Corn + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Eggs
- Set the custard and add richness and body to the pudding.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the hot milk into a smooth, sliceable custard.
- Sweet milk
- Forms the liquid base that the eggs and starch thicken.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and helps stiffen the meringue.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a stiff meringue that gives volume and browns on top.
The step that matters
Stirring the egg mixture rapidly into boiling milk. Starch and egg must be stirred quickly into hot milk so they disperse evenly and thicken smoothly without lumps or curdled egg.
“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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