Name: Chocolate Pudding
Ingredients: ¼ pound chocolate; 3 tablespoons flour; 1 cup milk; ¼ pound fresh butter; 7 egg yolks; ¼ pound powdered sugar; 7 egg whites; a little pounded vanilla; butter (for greasing); ¼ quart cream; ¼ quart milk; ¼ pound sugar; 3 egg yolks; 1 teaspoon corn starch; a little cold milk

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 ↓

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.

Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,187 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,020 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

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

Chocolate: Provides the main flavour and, as it sets, firms the pudding's body.
Flour: Thickens the chocolate base so it holds its shape after baking.
Butter: Adds fat for richness and a tender, moist crumb.
Egg yolks: Enrich the mixture and set into a custard that binds the pudding.
Egg whites: Trapped air in the beaten foam lifts the pudding as it bakes.
Corn starch: Thickens the sauce so it becomes smooth and coats a spoon.

The step that matters

Folding in the beaten egg whites. Fold gently so the air trapped in the whites is kept. Knocking it out makes the pudding dense, because the foam is what lifts the batter as it bakes.

“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.

Chocolate Pudding