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 ↓
Newton Tapioca
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Soak tapioca for two hours in cold water until it covers.
Make the base
Pour scalded milk over Indian meal, molasses, butter, and salt.
Cook in a double boiler until the mixture thickens.
Bake
Add the tapioca drained from water, turn into a buttered pudding dish, and pour over the remaining milk, but do not stir.
Bake for one and one-fourth hours in a slow oven.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Molasses | 1 tbsp (20g) | 58 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 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 + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Milk + molassestop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,243 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
-
Molasses + buttertop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,123 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Pearl tapioca
- Swells during soaking and gives the pudding its chewy, tender body.
- Indian meal
- Thickens the mixture as it cooks, adding body and a grainy texture.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness and deep color, and helps the pudding brown during baking.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that sets into a custard-like texture as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving a smoother mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Do not stir after adding the remaining milk. Leaving the top layer unstirred lets the milk settle and form a skin-like crust while the base bakes, instead of mixing into a uniform texture.
“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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