Why it works: Lemon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,318 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Apple Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Peel and chop the apples very fine.
Beat the eggs well in a separate bowl.
Mix the apples, bread crumbs, lemon peel, nutmeg, and salt thoroughly with the beaten eggs.
Grease a mold with butter and pour the mixture into it.
Cook
Boil or steam the pudding in the mold for 2½ to 3 hours.
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.
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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Apple + nutmegtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,790 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Apple + breadtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,790 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Apples
- Provide the bulk and moisture, and their sweetness and aroma flavour the pudding.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and set as it cooks, giving the pudding its structure.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb moisture from the apples and eggs, giving the pudding body and a soft texture.
- Grated lemon peel
- Adds bright aroma that balances the sweetness of the apples.
The step that matters
Steaming or boiling gently for the full time. The eggs and crumbs need prolonged, moderate heat to set through the centre. Boiling too vigorously or cutting the time short can leave the pudding wet or unevenly firm.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, bread, lemon, nutmeg, butter):
- Figfits better
- Orangefits better
- Coconutfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, bread, lemon, nutmeg, butter. 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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