Why it works: Milk and almond are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,800 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Almond Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the pudding
Put over the fire one quart of milk, one cupful of white sugar, one cupful of almonds, blanched and chopped very fine (one pound of hard shelled almonds will make one cupful).
When ready to boil, add one cupful of common starch dissolved in a little cold milk.
Let the whole boil three minutes.
Take from stove and stir in immediately the whites of seven eggs beaten to a stiff froth.
Turn into molds and put away until wanted.
Serve
To be eaten cold with wine and jelly.
Beat the jelly and thin it with wine.
This pudding will keep several days in cool weather.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Almond | 1 almond (1.2g) | 7 |
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 + almondtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,800 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
-
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 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
- Eggs
- Whipped whites add lightness and help the pudding set into a delicate structure.
- Almonds
- Chopped almonds supply the main flavour and body of the pudding.
- Common starch
- Starch thickens the hot milk so the pudding holds its shape when cold.
- Milk
- Milk forms the liquid base that the starch thickens and the eggs enrich.
- White sugar
- Sugar sweetens the pudding and adds softness to its texture.
The step that matters
Adding the egg whites off the heat. Whites stirred into a very hot mixture can deflate or scramble, so they should be folded in immediately after removing it from the stove, once it is no longer boiling, to keep the pudding light.
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, sugar, egg):
- Pecansfits about as well
- Almondthe original
- Cocoafits about as well
- Walnutfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, sugar, 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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