Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Philadelphia, Pa
Ingredients
Directions
Make the pudding
Mince the preserved salmon and drain off all the liquor for sauce.
Rub in the melted butter, work in the breadcrumbs, add the seasoning, and finally add the beaten eggs.
Put the mixture in a buttered pudding mould and set it in a dripping pan full of hot water, keeping the water at a fast boil and refilling as it evaporates.
Cook for one hour.
Set the mould in cold water a moment after removing it from the oven.
Make the sauce
Heat one cupful of milk to a boil and thicken with a tablespoon of corn starch.
Add one lightly beaten egg, stir in the liquor from the fish and one large spoon of butter.
Season and let it cook for three minutes in hot water, then add the juice of a lemon and some capers.
Serve
Cut the pudding into slices.
Serve on a platter with the following sauce.
Pour the sauce over the pudding mould and serve.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
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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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
-
Bread + milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
-
Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and help the pudding set as it cooks.
- Bread crumbs
- Add body to the mixture and absorb the melted butter for a soft texture.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture to both the pudding and the sauce.
- Milk
- Forms the base of the sauce, which thickens as it heats.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the milk into a smooth sauce as it heats.
The step that matters
Keep the water bath at a fast boil. Water that drops in temperature or runs low lets the pudding cook unevenly and set too slowly. Refilling with hot water keeps the heat steady around the mould.
“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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