Why it works: Milk and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,685 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Plain Bread Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Soak the bread
Put 5 ounces of breadcrumbs in a basin.
Pour 3/4 pint of boiling milk over the breadcrumbs.
Place a plate on top to keep the mixture in the steam.
Let stand for 20 minutes.
Make the mixture
Beat the mixture until quite smooth, adding 2 ounces of sugar and a teaspoon of nutmeg.
Break 4 eggs onto a plate, leaving out one egg white.
Beat the eggs well and add them to the pudding.
Stir the mixture well together.
Steam and cook
Put the mixture into a mould that has been well buttered and floured.
Tie a cloth over the mould.
Boil for one hour.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| 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.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Egg + nutmegtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together24,744 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
-
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 + nutmegtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together23,364 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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
- Breadcrumbs
- Soak up the hot milk to form the body of the pudding.
- Eggs
- Set during cooking to bind the pudding and give it structure.
- Milk
- Softens the breadcrumbs and adds moisture to the pudding.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to the pudding.
The step that matters
Beat the mixture until quite smooth. Breaking up lumps of softened bread and fully blending the eggs gives an even, smooth texture. Lumps left in the mixture will not disperse evenly during boiling.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, sugar, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegthe original
- Gingerfits less well
- Allspicefits less 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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