Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Bread Puddinu
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 milk and butter mixture
Warm the milk in a saucepan, but do not let it boil.
In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Stir the creamed mixture into the warm milk.
Remove the mixture from heat.
Make the custard
Beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon of sugar.
Stir the beaten eggs into the milk mixture.
Add the vanilla and brandy.
Cut the stale bread into half-inch square pieces.
Stir the bread pieces into the mixture last.
Bake and serve
Place the pudding pan in a larger pan filled with boiling water.
Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
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 + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Eggs
- Set the custard as they cook, giving the pudding its structure and firm body.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard and gives the pudding its moist texture.
- Stale bread
- Soaks up the custard and holds its shape, giving the pudding body and chew.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a tender, smooth crumb.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the pudding brown lightly as it bakes.
The step that matters
Keep the milk from boiling, and add the eggs off the heat. High heat makes egg proteins tighten and curdle, leaving the custard grainy instead of smooth. Warming gently and stirring the beaten eggs in after removing the pan from heat keeps the texture even.
“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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