Why it works: Milk and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,466 recipes. Both carry 2-undecenal, which smells sweet. The science ↓
Orange Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the pudding base
Combine 1 quart of milk and 3 cupfuls of fine bread crumbs.
Add yolks of 4 eggs and crumbs.
Add juice of 4 oranges and grated rind of 1 orange.
Add sugar to taste; it needs to be quite sweet.
Bake and serve
Bake in a pudding pan set in a pan of water.
Beat the whites of the 4 eggs to a stiff froth, add a little sugar and flavoring, spread over the pudding and brown in the oven.
Serve cold.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
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 |
| Orange | 1 medium (131g) | 62 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
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.
-
Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
-
Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Milk + orangetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,696 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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 bread crumbs soak up and set into a custard.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb the milk and give the pudding body and a soft, tender structure.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the custard and help it set into a smooth, sliceable texture.
- Orange juice
- Adds acidity and bright citrus flavor that cuts the sweetness.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a stiff froth, they form a light topping that browns in the oven.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps the topping brown.
The step that matters
Beat the egg whites to a stiff froth. Whites must be whipped until they hold stiff peaks so the topping stays light and airy; underbeaten whites weep and sink into the custard, while overbeaten whites turn dry and grainy.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, bread, egg, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Datesfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, bread, egg, sugar. 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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