Why it works: Bread and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,466 recipes. Both carry 2-undecenal, which smells sweet. The science ↓
Lemon Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a good oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the pudding
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, combine the grated bread, lemon zest, ½ cup sugar, egg yolks, and milk.
Pour the mixture into a baking dish and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until set.
Make the meringue and finish
In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gradually add ½ cup sugar and the lemon juice.
Spread the meringue over the pudding and return to the oven to brown lightly.
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.
-
Bread + milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
-
Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Lemon + milktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Lemon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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
- Baker's bread
- Forms the body of the pudding as it soaks up the milk and sets when baked.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the custard and help it set into a soft, smooth texture.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into stiff peaks to form a light meringue that browns on top.
- Milk
- Supplies the liquid that the bread absorbs and the egg yolks set into custard.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps the meringue whip and hold its structure.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the sweetness.
The step that matters
Beating the egg whites to stiff peaks. Whites must be whipped until stiff and the sugar added gradually so the foam holds its shape. Under-whipped or oily whites will weep or flatten on top of the pudding.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, sugar, egg, milk):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Datesfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against bread, sugar, egg, milk. 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.
More lemon pudding recipes
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Bread Pudding153 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.