Why it works: Flour and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Puff Puddikg
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.
Make the batter
In a bowl, stir together the flour, milk, and eggs until smooth.
Pour the mixture into a baking dish.
Bake and serve
Carefully pour the boiling milk over the mixture.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 20 minutes.
Serve with hard sauce.
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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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and milk 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
- Flour
- Provides structure as it sets, giving the pudding its body.
- Eggs
- Set during baking to give the pudding structure and a custard-like texture.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and softness to the batter as it bakes.
- Boiling milk
- Poured over the batter to add heat and moisture, helping it puff and cook through.
The step that matters
Carefully pour the boiling milk over the mixture. Boiling milk can splash and scald, so pouring slowly and gently helps keep it controlled. Adding it hot to the batter helps the pudding start cooking and rise evenly in the oven.
“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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