Name: Sliced Apple Pudding
Ingredients: a pint of rich milk; a small cup of melted butter; six eggs very light; nutmeg

Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Sliced Apple Pudding

Ingredients

a pint of rich milk
a small cup of melted butter
six eggs very light
nutmeg

Directions

Make the batter

Beat six eggs very light.
Add a pint of rich milk.
Make the eggs and milk into a tolerably thick batter with flour.
Add a small cup of melted butter.

Bake and serve

Pare some apples or peaches and slice them thin.
Put in the fruit.
Bake it in a deep dish.
Eat with sugar, butter, and nutmeg.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

341Calories

14 gProtein

26 gFat

14 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Mary Randolph. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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 + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,685 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together24,377 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Egg + nutmegtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together24,744 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Egg and nutmeg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 24,744 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: Bind the batter and help it set firm when baked.
Flour (in the method): Thickens the eggs and milk into a batter that holds its shape.
Rich milk: Adds moisture and richness, loosening the batter into a custard-like texture.
Melted butter: Adds fat for richness and a tender crumb.
Apples or peaches (in the method): Provide moisture and fruity flavour that bakes into the pudding.