Why it works: Sugar and egg 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 ↓
Prune Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the prunes
Cook prunes with sugar until tender.
When cool, remove the stones and chop the prunes finely.
Make and bake the pudding
Stir in the well-beaten egg whites.
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) for 30 minutes.
Serve
Serve with whipped cream.
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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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Prunes
- Provide the main body, moisture and sweet flavour of the pudding.
- Egg whites
- Whipped whites trap air and set during baking, giving the pudding its light structure.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the prunes and softens them while cooking.
The step that matters
Stir in the well-beaten egg whites. Egg whites hold air only if they are well beaten and folded in gently. Overmixing or deflating them makes the pudding dense rather than light once baked.
“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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