Name: Lemon Pudding
Ingredients: juice and peel of 2 lemons; 6 ounces loaf sugar, pounded; ½ cup grated bread crumbs; 4 eggs (2 whites reserved); 3 ounces fresh butter

Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Lemon Pudding

Oven, in the book's wordsA quick oven

Ingredients

juice and peel of 2 lemons
6 ounces loaf sugar, pounded
½ cup grated bread crumbs
4 eggs (2 whites reserved)
3 ounces fresh butter

Directions

The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

Soak the juice and peel of the lemons together, rubbing the peel with sugar.
In a bowl, mix the pounded sugar, grated bread crumbs, and the soaked lemon mixture.

Make the filling

Beat the eggs and add them to the mixture along with melted butter.
Prepare a pie dish with puff pastry and pour in the mixture.

Bake

Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 45 minutes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together22,662 recipes

Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Lemon + buttertop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,227 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together98,233 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Bind the filling and set into a custardy texture when baked.
Butter: Adds richness and moisture, giving the pudding a tender crumb.
Bread crumbs: Absorb the lemon liquid and give the pudding body and structure.
Sugar: Sweetens the filling and balances the sharpness of the lemon.
Lemon: Supplies acidity and aroma; the peel adds fragrant oils.