Why it works: Nutmeg and lemon 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 ↓
Sweetmeat Pudding
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.
Prepare the custard
Beat the yolks of 20 eggs with the whites of 3 eggs.
Mix 1 pound of butter and 1 pound of sugar together.
Stir in the beaten eggs and add the grated nutmeg.
Assemble and bake
Line a pudding dish with rich pastry and cover it with quince or peach preserves.
Pour the egg mixture over the preserves and bake at 350°F (175°C).
Top and finish
When nearly done, beat the whites of 8 eggs to a stiff froth.
Add 2 tablespoons of fine sugar and a little lemon extract to the egg whites.
Take the pudding out of the oven, cover it with the egg white mixture, and return it to the oven until it is light brown.
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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Nutmeg + lemontop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Nutmeg + quincetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together118 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
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Quince + lemontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together336 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together24,377 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the filling and enrich it, setting into a rich custard as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving the custard a tender, smooth texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and helps the topping brown lightly.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a stiff froth, they form a light topping that puffs and browns in the oven.
- Quince or peach preserves
- Provide fruity sweetness and a layer of flavour beneath the custard.
The step that matters
Beating the egg whites to a stiff froth. Whites under-beaten stay loose and sink into the custard, while over-beaten whites turn dry and grainy. Stiff, glossy peaks hold their shape and bake into a light, even topping.
Swap the quince
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, sugar, nutmeg, lemon):
- Vanillafits better
- Orangefits better
- Figfits better
- Quincethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, sugar, nutmeg, lemon. 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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