Why it works: Milk and almond are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,800 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Almond Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the custard
In a double boiler, heat the milk, maple sugar, and cornstarch until boiling.
Add the yolks of the eggs and stir well.
Pour the mixture into a pudding dish.
Bake and serve
Beat the egg whites until stiff and spread over the top.
Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven until the top is golden brown.
Let cool before serving.
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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Milk + almondtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,800 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar 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
- Milk
- Forms the body of the pudding and sets into a soft custard when heated.
- Eggs
- Yolks thicken the custard, and whipped whites form a light, browned topping.
- Maple sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the custard brown on top.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the milk mixture so it holds its shape as it cools.
The step that matters
Beat the egg whites until stiff. Egg whites hold air only when fully whipped and free of yolk or grease. Under-beaten or deflated whites will not rise or brown evenly, leaving a flat, weeping topping.
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, egg, sugar):
- Pecansfits about as well
- Almondthe original
- Cocoafits about as well
- Walnutfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, egg, sugar. 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.
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