Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Vinegar 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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Melt the butter and mix it into the egg mixture.
Add the diluted vinegar and stir well.
Sift in the flour and baking soda, then mix until just combined.
Add the lemon oil and mix gently.
Bake
Pour the batter into greased pudding molds.
Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Provide structure and richness as they set during baking, giving the pudding its body.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender, moist crumb and rich flavour.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the batter and helps it become light and fluffy when beaten with the eggs.
- Flour
- Forms the structure that holds the pudding together as it bakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic vinegar to produce gas that helps the pudding rise.
- Strong vinegar
- Provides acidity that activates the baking soda, aiding rise and a lighter texture.
The step that matters
Sift in the flour and baking soda, then mix until just combined.. Baking soda reacts with the acidic vinegar to release gas for rising. Overmixing after the flour goes in develops gluten, which can toughen the pudding and make it dense.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, butter, vinegar, flour):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, butter, vinegar, 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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