Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Chocolate Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the pudding
In a bowl, combine the dried bread crumbs, melted chocolate, milk, sugar, and beaten eggs.
Pour the mixture into a greased pudding mold.
Steam for 45 minutes.
Make the sauce
For the sauce, cream together the powdered sugar and butter.
Add ½ cup milk and stir in a double boiler until it boils.
Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
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 + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and set into a firm, sliceable pudding when steamed.
- Dried bread crumbs
- Provide bulk and body, soaking up the liquid to give the pudding structure.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, creamy texture to the sauce.
- Baker's chocolate
- Supplies the chocolate flavor and deep color of the pudding.
The step that matters
Stir the sauce over a double boiler until it boils. Gentle indirect heat keeps the milk and sugar from scorching or curdling, giving a smooth sauce. Once it reaches a boil, removing it from heat before adding vanilla preserves the vanilla's aroma, which heat would drive off.
“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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