Why it works: Butter and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 24,377 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Pudding Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the beaten eggs and mix well.
Pour in the boiling water and stir until combined.
Flavor with nutmeg or your choice of flavoring.
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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Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together24,377 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Egg + nutmegtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together24,744 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + nutmegtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together23,364 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Egg and nutmeg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 24,744 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
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, velvety body to the sauce.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the sauce and, creamed with butter, helps trap air for a lighter texture.
- Eggs
- Add richness and body, and can thicken the sauce gently when heated.
- Boiling water
- Liquid that loosens the mixture into a pourable sauce and melts the sugar.
The step that matters
Pouring in the boiling water. Hot liquid poured quickly into beaten eggs can scramble them into lumps. Pour slowly while stirring constantly so the eggs warm gradually and the sauce stays smooth.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg):
- Cinnamonfits about as well
- Nutmegthe original
- Capersfits less well
- Parsleyfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg. 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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