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 ↓
Apple 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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the stewed apples, bread crumbs, nutmeg, and lemon zest and juice; mix well.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until frothy, then fold them into the apple mixture.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a greased baking pan and bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until set.
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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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Apple + nutmegtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,790 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Apple + breadtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,790 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Beaten eggs add structure and help the pudding set as it bakes.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar, it adds richness and a tender texture.
- Sugar
- Creamed with butter, it sweetens the pudding and adds to its tender crumb.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb moisture from the apples and give the pudding body.
- Stewed apples
- Provide moisture and the main apple flavor of the pudding.
The step that matters
Folding in the eggs. Beaten eggs hold air that gives lift and a light texture. Overmixing after folding in the eggs knocks out that air and makes the pudding dense.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, butter, bread, nutmeg, lemon):
- Figfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Orangefits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, butter, bread, 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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