Why it works: Vanilla and coconut match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,294 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
French Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
In a double boiler, bring 1 quart of milk to a boil with ½ cup sugar and a little salt.
Save a little milk to dissolve 3 tablespoons cornstarch.
Once the milk boils, stir in the cornstarch mixture.
When it begins to thicken, add the beaten yolks of 4 eggs.
Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Pour into a pudding dish.
Top and bake
Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks with the remaining sugar, adding lemon flavoring.
Spread the egg white mixture over the pudding and bake until browned.
Moisten the top with leftover frosting and sprinkle with grated coconut.
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.
-
Vanilla + coconuttop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,294 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
-
Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
-
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Milk + coconuttop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,648 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Lemon + coconuttop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,233 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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 body of the pudding, setting into a creamy custard as it thickens.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the milk into a smooth, sliceable custard when heated.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the custard and add richness and body as it thickens.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to stiff peaks, they form a light topping that browns in the oven.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and helps the whipped egg whites hold their shape.
The step that matters
Thickening the custard after adding the cornstarch and yolks. Cornstarch thickens only when the mixture is hot enough, and adding yolks to a very hot mixture can scramble them. Keep the heat moderate and stir constantly so the custard thickens smoothly.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, sugar, egg, vanilla, coconut):
- Bananafits better
- Figfits better
- Pineapplefits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, sugar, egg, vanilla, coconut. 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.
More french pudding recipes
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Vanilla Ice Cream108 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.