Why it works: Milk and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Cream Tapioca Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Soak three tablespoonfuls of tapioca in water overnight.
Boil the soaked tapioca in one quart of milk for half an hour.
Beat the yolks of four eggs with one cupful of sugar.
Add three tablespoonfuls of coconut to the egg mixture.
Boil the mixture ten minutes longer.
Pour the mixture into a pudding dish.
Top and bake
Beat the whites of four eggs to a stiff froth with three tablespoonfuls of sugar.
Spread the meringue over the pudding and sprinkle with coconut.
Bake the pudding for five minutes.
Serve the pudding cold.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Water | 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.
-
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).
-
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
- Tapioca
- Thickens the milk as its starch swells and sets during boiling.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that gives the pudding its body and richness.
- Eggs
- Yolks thicken the custard and whites whip into a foam for the meringue topping.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps stabilize the whipped egg whites.
- Coconut (in the method)
- Adds flavor and a chewy texture to the custard and topping.
The step that matters
Boil the mixture ten minutes longer. Egg yolks can curdle and turn grainy when overheated. Keep the custard at a gentle simmer and stir constantly so it thickens smoothly.
“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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