Why it works: Sweet potato and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,151 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Sweet Potato Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Gather a quarter pound of boiled sweet potato, three eggs, a quarter pound of powdered white sugar, a quarter pound of fresh butter, a glass of mixed wine and brandy, a half glass of rose-water, and a teaspoon of mixed spice (nutmeg, mace, cinnamon).
Pound the spices, using less mace than nutmeg and cinnamon.
Boil and peel sweet potatoes; when cooled, weigh a quarter pound. Mash the sweet potato very smooth and sieve it. Stir the sugar and butter into a cream.
Make the filling
Beat the eggs lightly, then stir them into the butter and sugar, alternating with the sweet potato. Gradually add the liquor, rose-water, and spice, stirring hard throughout.
Bake and serve
Spread puff pastry on a soup plate. Pour the mixture onto it and bake for about half an hour in a moderate oven.
Grate sugar over the baked pudding.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Potato | 1 medium (173g) baked | 161 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| 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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Sweet potato + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,151 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Sweet potato + buttertop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,491 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
-
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
- Sweet potato
- Provides the bulk and moist, dense body of the pudding.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and help it set as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving a tender texture.
- Powdered white sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps create a smooth cream with the butter.
- Mixed spice (in the method)
- Adds warm aroma and flavour to the filling.
The step that matters
Mash and sieve the sweet potato until very smooth. Any lumps or fibres left in the sweet potato will stay visible and grainy in the baked pudding, so a fully smooth purée gives an even, silky texture.
Swap the sweet potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg):
- Sweet potatothe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Leekfits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, 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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