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 ↓
Chocolate 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
Soak the bread crumbs in 2 cups of milk.
Melt the chocolate and mix in 3 tablespoons of sugar and ½ cup of milk. Cook over steam for 2 minutes.
Bake
Add the soaked bread and milk, 2 eggs, ¼ cup sugar, and ½ teaspoon salt.
Bake for 1 hour in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C).
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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Bread + milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Chocolate + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,404 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Milk + chocolatetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,128 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Bread crumbs
- Form the body of the pudding and absorb the milk to create a soft, custard-like texture.
- Eggs
- Set during baking to bind the pudding and give it a firm yet tender structure.
- Chocolate
- Provides the chocolate flavor and richness throughout the pudding.
- Milk
- Hydrates the bread and forms the custard base, adding moisture.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the bitterness of the chocolate.
The step that matters
Cook over steam after melting the chocolate. Chocolate can seize or scorch if overheated. Gentle steam heat melts it smoothly into the milk and sugar, keeping the mixture even before it joins the eggs and bread.
“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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