Why it works: Milk and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,243 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓
Baked Indian Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the mush
Heat 2 quarts of milk to boiling.
Gradually pour the hot milk over the Indian meal, stirring constantly.
Transfer the mixture to a double boiler and boil for 30 minutes, stirring frequently.
Bake and serve
Add the salt and molasses, then let the mixture cool until it is warm.
Pour into a buttered pudding dish and add 1 pint of cold milk without stirring.
Bake for 3 hours at 300°F (150°C).
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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Milk + molassestop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,243 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Indian meal
- Cornmeal thickens the milk into a soft, spoonable custard as it cooks.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid base that the cornmeal cooks into a creamy pudding.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark color and a deep caramel-like flavor to the pudding.
The step that matters
Adding the cold milk without stirring. Pouring the cold milk on top without stirring leaves it to sink and set gently during baking, creating a layered texture. Stirring would blend it in and lose that separation.
“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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