Why it works: Nutmeg and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,324 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Baked Indian Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the pudding
Scald 1 quart of milk.
Stir 1 teacup of Indian meal into a little cold milk and add to the boiling milk, stirring until it thickens, but not further as it will not bake well.
When nearly cold, add a pinch of salt and 1 pint of cold milk.
Sweeten with half sugar and half molasses (about 2-3 cups).
Flavor with a little nutmeg and ginger.
Bake
Bake 3 hours.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Ginger | 1 tsp grated fresh (2g) | 2 |
| 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.
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.
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Nutmeg + gingertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,324 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Sugar + gingertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together14,054 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
-
Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Milk + gingertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,519 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Sugar and ginger barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 14,054 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
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the cornmeal thickens and bakes into a custard.
- Indian meal
- Thickens the milk as it cooks and gives the pudding its body and grainy texture.
- Molasses (in the method)
- Adds sweetness and a deep, dark flavor that contributes to browning during baking.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the pudding brown during the long bake.
The step that matters
Stop thickening the cornmeal mixture early. Cooking the cornmeal and milk until very thick leaves little liquid for the long bake, so the pudding may not bake well. Stop once it has just thickened.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, sugar, nutmeg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Allspicefits better
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, sugar, nutmeg. 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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