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 ↓
Cocoanut Custard
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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the custard
In a bowl, combine grated coconut, milk, eggs, sugar, butter, lemon zest, and nutmeg, and mix well until fully combined.
Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish.
Bake
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until set and lightly golden on top.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Coconut + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together411 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-pinene (pine, resin).
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Coconut + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,648 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Coconut + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,467 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set the custard as they cook, giving it a firm, sliceable structure.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that cooks into a creamy, tender custard.
- Grated coconut
- Adds moisture, body and coconut flavour to the custard.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, contributing to a soft, smooth texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and aids gentle browning on the surface.
The step that matters
Bake until just set. Eggs set as they heat, so pulling the custard out once the centre is just set and no longer liquid prevents it from becoming grainy or watery.
Swap the coconut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, egg, sugar, butter, lemon, nutmeg):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits about as well
- Orangefits about as well
- Coconutthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, egg, sugar, butter, lemon, nutmeg. 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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