Why it works: Milk and corn are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,955 recipes. Both carry hexanal, which smells green, grassy. The science ↓
Orange Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the oranges
Peel and slice the oranges thinly, removing all seeds, and place them in a dish. Sprinkle the sugar over the oranges.
Make the custard
Heat the milk in a double boiler until boiling.
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and mix in the corn starch with a little cold milk until smooth.
Stir the egg mixture into the hot milk continuously until thickened, then pour it over the oranges.
Top and bake
Beat the egg whites until stiff, then add the tablespoon of sugar and spread it over the top.
Place the dish in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 1 minute to harden the frosting.
Serve hot or chilled.
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.
-
Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
-
Orange + corntop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together586 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Orange + milktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,696 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Oranges
- Provide the main fruit flavor and juicy base under the custard.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard and add richness and a smooth texture.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a stiff foam that forms the light topping.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard that sets when thickened.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the milk mixture so the custard holds its shape.
- Fine white sugar
- Sweetens the oranges and softens their acidity.
The step that matters
Thickening the custard. Corn starch thickens only when the hot milk is near boiling and stirred constantly. Stirring prevents lumps and keeps the egg yolks from scrambling, so the custard stays smooth.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, milk, egg, corn):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, milk, egg, corn. 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.
More orange pudding recipes
You might also like
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Orange Cream Rice Pudding121 recipes
Orange Gelatin100 recipes
Corn Cake90 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.