Name: Marshmallow Pudding
Ingredients: ½ pound marshmallows, cut in quarters; 1 cup walnuts, chopped; ¼ cup sugar; ¾ cup cream; ¼ cup milk; candied cherries

Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

Marshmallow Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Make the pudding

In a bowl, beat together the sugar, cream, and milk until just combined.
Fold in the marshmallows, walnuts, and candied cherries.

Chill and serve

Layer the mixture in a serving dish and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving.
Serve in sherbet glasses with additional cherries on top.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Walnut + milktop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,236 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-hexanal (fruit).
Cream + milktop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,399 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together77,875 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Walnut + creamtop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,982 recipes

Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).

Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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

Marshmallows: Melt slightly and soften into the cream, giving the pudding its sweet, airy body.
Cream: Adds fat and richness, giving the pudding a smooth, creamy texture.
Walnuts: Add crunch that contrasts with the soft, creamy mixture.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps the mixture hold together.