Why it works: Lemon and orange match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,634 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
Fruit Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the pudding
Soak a package of gelatin in 1 cup cold water.
Add 1 pint boiling water to the gelatin; when it cools, add the juice of 2 small lemons or 1 large one, strain through a fine sieve, then add 1 coffee cup of sugar and 2 oranges cut into small pieces.
Add 2 bananas sliced, 1/2 pound figs, 1/4 pound walnuts, cut fine; any kind of fresh fruit may be added to this; mix thoroughly.
Set and serve
Pour the mixture into a wet mould and set in a cool place.
Serve with whipped cream.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Banana | 1 medium (118g) | 105 |
| Orange | 1 medium (131g) | 62 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Coffee | 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.
-
Lemon + orangetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,634 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Orange + bananatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,118 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Coffee + orangetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together326 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (buttery, creamy).
-
Coffee + bananatop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together80 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl pentanoate (yeast, fruit).
-
Lemon + bananatop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,134 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Gelatin (in the method)
- Sets the liquid into a firm, sliceable pudding structure.
- Lemons
- Add acidity that brightens the sweetness and balances the set mixture.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the lemon's tartness.
- Bananas
- Add soft texture and natural sweetness to the pudding.
The step that matters
Cooling before adding the fruit. Gelatin begins to set as it cools, and adding fruit while it is still too warm can cause it to lose firmness or separate. Letting the dissolved gelatin cool slightly first keeps it liquid enough to mix evenly yet ready to set.
Swap the banana
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lemon, coffee, sugar, orange):
- Vanillafits better
- Limefits better
- Figfits better
- Bananathe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lemon, coffee, sugar, orange. 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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