Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Pine-apple Ice Cream Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
In a saucepan, combine grated pineapple, egg yolks, sugar, boiled cream, and salt.
Heat the mixture over low heat until it begins to thicken.
Freeze and serve
When it starts to set in the freezer, fold in the whipped cream.
Transfer the mixture into a mold and freeze until firm.
To serve, garnish with pineapple leaves and surround with sweetened whipped 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.
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Pineapple + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,841 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Pineapple + creamtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,574 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the mixture as they heat and help it set into a smooth, firm texture.
- Boiled cream
- Adds richness and fat, giving the pudding a smooth, creamy mouthfeel.
- Whipped cream
- Adds airiness and lightness, so the frozen pudding is less dense.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and lowers its freezing point so it stays softer.
- Pineapple
- Provides the main fruit flavour and acidity, and its juice adds moisture.
The step that matters
Heating the custard over low heat. Egg yolks can curdle or scramble if heated too fast. Gentle, low heat lets the yolks thicken the mixture smoothly before it is folded and frozen.
Swap the pineapple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, cream):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Strawberryfits better
- Pineapplethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, cream. 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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