Why it works: Egg and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 24,744 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Custard Puddings
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the custard
Combine 1 qt milk, 4 eggs (beaten yolks and whites separately), 4 tbsp sugar, a grating of nutmeg, and a pinch of salt.
Bake in a buttered pudding dish until solid, and remove before it curdles.
Add the starch and bake
Add 1 cup rice cooked soft in part of the milk or in water.
Add tapioca or sago and cook for 2 hours in part of the milk or in water.
Bake for about an hour until browned.
Raisins may be added.
Indian corn meal variation
For Indian custard pudding, add 1 pt corn meal, an extra cup of milk, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp ginger, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup chopped beef suet or 2 tbsp fat.
Scald the meal first in the milk.
Bake the pudding, covered, for two hours in a slow oven.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| 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.
-
Egg + nutmegtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together24,744 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
-
Sugar + gintop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together344 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Sugar + nutmegtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together23,364 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Gin + nutmegtop 26% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together31 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Egg and nutmeg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 24,744 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 give it structure as they cook.
- Milk (in the method)
- Forms the liquid base that the custard sets from.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps it brown in the oven.
- Tapioca
- Thickens the pudding as its starch swells in the liquid.
The step that matters
Bake until solid, then remove before it curdles. Egg proteins set as the custard heats, but too much heat makes them tighten and separate, leaving a curdled, watery texture. Removing it once just set keeps the custard smooth.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, gin, egg):
- Cinnamonfits about as well
- Nutmegthe original
- Gingerfits less well
- Dillfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, gin, 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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