Why it works: Clove and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,686 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Pear, Peach and Apple Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the pears
Pare some nice ripe pears (to weigh about three-fourths of a pound).
Put the pears in a saucepan with a few cloves, some lemon or orange peel, and stew about a quarter of an hour in two cupfuls of water.
Transfer the pears to your pudding-dish.
Make the custard
Beat four eggs and sugar well; add a tablespoonful of flour, grate some nutmeg, add a pinch of salt, and add the cream by degrees, stirring all the time.
Bake and serve
Pour the custard over the pears and bake in a quick oven.
Serve cold with sweetened cream.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Orange | 1 medium (131g) | 62 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Clove | 1 tsp ground (2g) | 7 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| 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.
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Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Clove + orangetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,987 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
-
Orange + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,746 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,920 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set the custard and give the pudding its structure as they cook.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, tender texture to the custard.
- Flour
- Thickens the custard slightly so it holds together when baked.
- Pears (in the method)
- Provide the main fruit flavour and soft texture beneath the custard.
The step that matters
Adding the cream to the eggs. Pouring the cream in gradually while stirring keeps the eggs from scrambling, so the custard stays smooth rather than curdled.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, flour, egg, clove, nutmeg):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, flour, egg, clove, nutmeg. 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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