Why it works: Flour and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
To Re Served with Roast Meat
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Beat the eggs very light with a pinch of salt.
Gradually add part of the flour and the milk, mixing well.
Combine the remaining flour and mix until smooth.
Bake and serve
Bake with the roast for 45 minutes before the meat is done.
Alternatively, heat drippings in a pan, pour in the batter, and baste occasionally.
Cut into squares and serve on the platter with the roast.
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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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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 + meattop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,703 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Egg + meattop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,432 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Eggs
- Provide structure and lift, setting the batter as it bakes.
- Flour
- Forms the gluten network that gives the pudding its body and shape.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and helps the batter bake into a tender, hollow shape.
- Drippings from the meat
- Heat the pan and add rich fat for browning and crisp edges.
The step that matters
Heat the drippings until very hot before pouring in the batter. A hot fat sears the batter's outer layer as it hits the pan, so the pudding rises quickly and forms crisp walls. Cold fat lets the batter spread and sink instead of puffing.
“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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