Name: Cocoanut Pudding
Ingredients: 2 cups rolled crackers; 1 cup shredded coconut (or 1 cup desiccated coconut soaked in 1 quart milk for 2 hours); 3 eggs, well beaten; 1 quart milk; ½ cup butter; 1 cup sugar; Brandy or wine, to taste

Why it works: Milk and butter 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 ↓

Cocoanut Pudding

Ingredients

2 cups rolled crackers
1 cup shredded coconut (or 1 cup desiccated coconut soaked in 1 quart milk for 2 hours)
3 eggs, well beaten
1 quart milk
½ cup butter
1 cup sugar
Brandy or wine, to taste

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 the pudding

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, combine the rolled crackers, shredded coconut, beaten eggs, and milk.
Pour the mixture into a baking dish and bake for about 45 minutes.

Make the sauce and serve

For the sauce, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add brandy or wine to the sauce to taste and serve over the pudding.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Coconut + milktop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,648 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Coconut + buttertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,467 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Butter + brandytop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,127 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Milk + brandytop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,738 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Bind the mixture and help it set into a firm, sliceable pudding as it bakes.
Rolled crackers: Provide the starchy base that soaks up the milk and gives the pudding body.
Milk: Moistens the crackers and coconut and cooks into the custard-like texture of the pudding.
Shredded coconut: Adds chewy texture and a distinct coconut flavor to the pudding.
Butter: Adds richness and fat to the sauce, giving it a smooth, silky mouthfeel.
Sugar: Sweetens the sauce and, creamed with butter, helps it turn light and fluffy.