Why it works: Egg and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 106,462 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Batter Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Beat the yolks and whites of the eggs separately until light.
Add the beaten eggs to the milk.
Stir in the flour and the uncooked apples or peaches.
If baking, omit the fruit and pour the mixture into heated, buttered cups.
Bake for about 20 minutes at 400°F (200°C).
Serve hot with a rich wine sauce.
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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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + appletop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,140 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + appletop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,461 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Egg and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, flour):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Lemonfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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