Why it works: Vanilla and coconut match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,294 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Corn Starch Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Dissolve the corn starch in a little cold milk.
Stir the sugar into the rest of the milk and heat in a double boiler.
When it begins to boil, add the dissolved corn starch.
Stir constantly until thickened and smooth.
Fold in the beaten egg whites and boil for a few more minutes to cook the eggs.
Remove from heat and add the vanilla and grated coconut if desired.
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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Vanilla + coconuttop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,294 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Corn + coconuttop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together306 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Corn + vanillatop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,943 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Milk + coconuttop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,648 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the coconut
The recipe marks coconut as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, corn, egg, vanilla):
- Coconutthe original
- Figfits about as well
- Blueberryfits less well
- Peachfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, corn, egg, vanilla. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
More corn starch pudding recipes
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