Why it works: Sugar and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Hattie’s Prune Dessert
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the prunes
Stew 1 lb. nice large California prunes in as little water as possible; drain, remove the stones and chop the prunes, not too fine.
Make the egg whites
Beat the whites of 3 eggs to a stiff froth with a little salt and ¼ cup of sugar. (Be sure to use the sugar in the eggs instead of in the prunes.)
Bake and serve
Chop prunes lightly, bake in pudding dish or brick shaped granite pan in slow oven until egg is set, about 20 m.
Serve cold with plain or whipped cream. Almond cream flavored with vanilla is nice.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| 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.
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Prunes (in the method)
- Provide the main body, moisture and sweetness of the pudding.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to a foam, they give the pudding its light structure and set when baked.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps stabilize the whipped egg white foam.
The step that matters
Beating the egg whites to a stiff froth. Whites must be beaten until they hold stiff peaks, since the foam provides the pudding's lift and structure. Underbeaten whites stay runny and yield a dense, weepy pudding, while overbeaten whites turn grainy and collapse in the oven. Sugar added during beating helps keep the foam stable.
“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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