Why it works: Egg and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Marshmallow Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Place the marshmallows in the bottom of a baking dish.
Make the pudding
Prepare the cocoa by mixing it with water and cornstarch until thickened.
Pour the cocoa mixture over the marshmallows.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Top and serve
Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form, then gradually add sugar to make a meringue.
Spread the meringue over the pudding and brown it in the oven.
Serve cold.
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.
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.
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Cocoa + sugartop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together956 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Cocoa + eggtop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together582 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Marshmallows
- Melt into a soft, sweet layer beneath the cocoa mixture.
- Cocoa
- Supplies the chocolate flavor and dark color of the pudding.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the cocoa mixture as it heats, giving the pudding body.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into foam that forms the meringue topping and sets as it bakes.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the meringue and helps stabilize the whipped egg whites.
The step that matters
Whipping the egg whites with gradual sugar. Whites must reach soft peaks before sugar is added slowly, so the sugar dissolves and the foam holds air. Under-whipped or greasy whites won't hold their shape, so the meringue can weep or sink as it browns.
Swap the cocoa
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar):
- Pecansfits better
- Almondfits better
- Chestnutfits better
- Cocoathe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar. 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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