Why it works: Flour and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,623 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
A Custard Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard base
Take five tablespoonfuls out of a quart of cream or rich milk, and mix them with two large spoonfuls of fine flour.
Set the remaining milk to boil, flavoring it with half a dozen peach leaves or bitter almonds broken up.
When it has boiled hard, take it off, strain it, and stir in the cold milk and flour.
Set the mixture aside to cool.
Mix and steam
Beat ten yolks and four whites of eggs very lightly.
Add the beaten eggs to the milk mixture, and stir in a glass of brandy or white wine, powdered nutmeg, and a quarter pound of sugar.
Butter a large bowl or mould, pour in the mixture, tie a cloth tightly over it, and place it in a pot of boiling water.
Boil for two hours, replenishing the pot with hot water from a tea kettle as needed.
Finish and serve
When the pudding is done, let it cool before turning it out.
Serve with butter and sugar stirred together into a cream, flavored with lemon.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| 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.
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.
-
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,920 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Sugar + nutmegtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together23,364 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Sugar and nutmeg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 23,364 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
- Eggs (in the method)
- Yolks and whites set as the pudding cooks, giving it a firm, sliceable custard structure.
- Cream
- Adds richness and fat, giving the custard a smooth, tender texture.
- Fine flour
- Thickens the milk mixture so the custard holds its shape when turned out.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and adds to its soft, tender texture.
The step that matters
Boil for two hours, replenishing the pot with hot water. The pudding cooks gently in boiling water surrounding the bowl. If the pot boils dry, the water level drops and the custard cooks unevenly, so keeping the pot topped up with hot water matters.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, sugar, flour):
- Jalapenofits about as well
- Nutmegthe original
- Cinnamonfits about as well
- Turmericfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, sugar, flour. 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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