Why it works: Butter and wine are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,645 recipes. Both carry 2-furfurylthiol, which smells coffee, roasted. The science ↓
Pudding Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until light.
Add the egg yolks and cornstarch, mixing well.
Gradually stir in boiling water until the sauce reaches a thick cream consistency.
Add wine or brandy to taste.
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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Butter + winetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + arrowroottop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,073 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and body, and help thicken the sauce as they set with heat.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and helps the creamed mixture turn light and smooth.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the sauce and, creamed with butter, helps give it a light texture.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the sauce as the starch swells in the liquid.
The step that matters
Gradually stir in boiling water. Adding the water slowly while stirring keeps the mixture smooth and lets the starch thicken evenly instead of forming lumps.
Swap the arrowroot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg, wine):
- Shallotfits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Arrowrootthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, egg, wine. 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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