Why it works: Apple and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,104 recipes. Both carry 4-heptenal, which smells creamy, biscuit. The science ↓
Apple Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Stew the apples with ½ cup sugar and pour into a pudding dish.
Make a custard by combining 1 quart milk, 3 egg yolks, ½ cup sugar, and 3 tablespoons flour.
Pour the custard over the apples.
Bake and serve
Beat the egg whites to a stiff froth, add a little sugar, and pour over the custard.
Place in a 400°F (200°C) oven for a few moments to 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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Apple + milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,104 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Apple + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Apples
- Provide the fruit base that softens and sweetens under the custard.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard and enrich it with fat for a smooth set.
- Egg whites
- Whip into a stiff foam that gives a light topping and browns in the oven.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, which sets when heated with the eggs.
- Flour
- Helps stabilise the custard so it holds its body instead of thinning.
The step that matters
Beat the egg whites to a stiff froth. Egg whites need to be whipped until they hold stiff peaks so the topping stays light and airy. Underbeaten whites collapse into the custard and do not brown well in the short bake.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, milk, egg, flour):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, milk, egg, flour. 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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