Why it works: Sugar and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Russian Prune Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the prune pulp
Stew the prunes in water until thoroughly cooked.
Rub the cooked prunes through a colander to make a pulp.
Add the sugar to the pulp and let it cool.
Bake and serve
Once cool, fold in the beaten egg whites until combined.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 20 minutes.
Serve immediately with sugar and cream.
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.
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Prunes
- Provide the main body, flavour and sweetness of the pudding once stewed and pureed.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps balance the tartness of the prune pulp.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into foam, they lighten the pulp and help it rise and set in the oven.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Egg whites hold air only when beaten to a stable foam. Folding gently, rather than stirring, keeps that air in the mixture so the pudding rises during baking instead of turning dense.
“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.
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.