Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Chocolate 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.
Make the chocolate base
Boil the milk in a saucepan.
While boiling, add the grated chocolate and stir for a few minutes.
Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and then add them to the chocolate mixture.
Sweeten to taste with sugar and add vanilla extract.
Bake and finish
Pour the mixture into a baking dish and bake at 350°F (175°C) until set, like a custard.
Let it cool and frost if desired.
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.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Chocolate + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Milk + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,128 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the pudding and carries the chocolate flavor.
- Eggs
- Egg yolks thicken the mixture and set it like a custard when baked.
- Grated chocolate
- Provides the main chocolate flavor and color of the pudding.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the bitterness of the chocolate.
The step that matters
Bake until set, like a custard. Egg proteins set with gentle heat and firm the pudding. Overbaking can make it curdle or turn grainy, so check that it is set but still slightly wobbly in the center.
“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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