Why it works: Milk and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Cornstarch Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Heat the milk in a pan over a kettle of hot water.
When the milk boils, add the sugar.
Dissolve the cornstarch in a little milk and add it to the pan.
Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold them into the mixture.
Cook for a few minutes until thickened.
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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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
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the milk into a smooth, set custard as it heats.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to stiff peaks, they add lightness and airy texture to the pudding.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the cornstarch thickens.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to the pudding.
The step that matters
Cook for a few minutes until thickened. Cornstarch only thickens fully when heated long enough for its starch granules to swell and gelatinize. Stopping early leaves the pudding thin and floury-tasting.
“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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