Why it works: Egg and sugar 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 ↓
Miss Cornelius' Prune Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make the pudding
Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks.
Gently fold in the sugar and stewed prunes.
Pour the mixture into a baking dish.
Bake
Bake until lightly browned.
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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Egg + sugartop 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
- Egg whites
- Whipped to stiff peaks, they trap air and give the pudding its light, airy structure.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps stabilise the whipped egg white foam.
- Prunes
- Stewed and sweetened, they add fruit flavour and moisture to the pudding.
The step that matters
Folding in the sugar and prunes. Folding gently keeps the air in the whipped egg whites. Stirring or deflating the foam makes the pudding dense and less risen.
“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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