Why it works: Lemon and rice are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,366 recipes. Both carry (e,e)-2,4-decadienal, which smells fatty, deep fried. The science ↓
Lemon Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Grate the rind from the lemons and squeeze the juice, straining it.
Beat the egg yolks until very light.
Make the pudding
Add the powdered sugar and melted butter to the egg yolks and mix well.
Stir in the grated lemon rind, lemon juice, and the finely pounded crackers (or rice flour or cornmeal).
Beat the mixture until light and fluffy.
Bake
Line a baking dish with puff pastry, pour the pudding mixture in, and bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until set but not very 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.
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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Lemon + ricetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,366 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Butter + ricetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,645 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Lemon + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Set the custard as they cook and add richness and a smooth, tender texture.
- Lemons
- Provide the acidity and bright aroma that define the pudding's flavour.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and dissolves easily into the yolks for a smooth texture.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender, silky crumb.
- Crackers
- Absorb liquid and give the pudding body and structure as it bakes.
- Puff pastry
- Forms a crisp, flaky base that holds the pudding in the dish.
The step that matters
Bake until just set, not brown. Egg yolks set as they heat, so over-baking makes the pudding curdled, grainy and dry. Stop when the centre is set but still tender, and avoid browning the top too much.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, butter, rice):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Lemonthe original
- Raisinfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, butter, rice. 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.
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