Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Almond Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the almonds
Boil water and pour the boiling water over the almonds.
Let the almonds sit until the skins come off easily, then rub the almonds with a dry cloth.
Pound the almonds fine with the rose water.
Make the filling
Beat the eggs to a stiff froth and mix in the sugar.
Combine the egg mixture with the milk, pounded crackers, melted butter, and citron.
Add the pounded almonds and stir everything together.
Bake and serve
Pour the mixture into a small pudding dish lined with pastry.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 30 minutes or until set.
Serve cold for the best flavor.
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 + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Almond + buttertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Almond + rosetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,465 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Almond + milktop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,800 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Beaten to a stiff froth, they set the custard and give it structure as it bakes.
- Sweet almonds
- Pounded fine, they supply the main body, nutty flavor and richness of the pudding.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid that the eggs set into a tender, custard-like texture.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smooth, tender crumb in the baked pudding.
- Pounded crackers
- Help thicken the mixture and add body to the custard.
- Citron
- Adds chewy pieces and a candied, aromatic sweetness throughout the pudding.
The step that matters
Bake until just set. Eggs keep setting as they cool, so over-baking can make the custard grainy and watery. Pull the pudding when the centre barely wobbles.
“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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