Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Tapioca 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.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the pudding
Combine soaked tapioca, butter, salt, egg yolks, milk, and sugar in a bowl.
Pour the mixture into a baking dish and bake until set.
Top and brown
Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, sweeten, and flavor to taste.
Spread the egg white mixture on top and return to the oven to brown.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Tapioca
- Soaked tapioca thickens the milk custard as it bakes, giving the pudding its body.
- Egg yolks
- Yolks enrich the custard and help it set into a soft, creamy texture.
- Egg whites
- Whipped whites form a light meringue layer that puffs and browns on top.
- Milk
- Milk forms the liquid base that the tapioca and eggs set within.
- Sugar
- Sugar sweetens the pudding and contributes to browning of the meringue topping.
The step that matters
Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Whites under-beaten stay runny and sink into the pudding, while over-beaten whites turn dry and grainy. Stiff, glossy peaks hold their shape and puff evenly when 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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