Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Baked Corn Starch Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the custard
Combine milk, sugar, and butter in a saucepan.
Heat the mixture until it boils.
Mix corn starch with a little cold milk until smooth.
Stir the smooth mixture into the boiling milk.
Cook the mixture for a few minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove the mixture from heat.
Stir in the beaten egg yolks thoroughly.
Pour the mixture into a buttered pudding dish.
Bake and top
Bake the pudding in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 15–20 minutes.
Remove the pudding from the oven.
Spread jelly or jam on top of the pudding.
Beat the egg whites until stiff.
Mix the powdered sugar into the beaten egg whites.
Spread the meringue over the pudding.
Return the pudding to the oven until the meringue is delicately browned.
Serve
Serve the pudding cold with sweetened cream.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Corn + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
-
Corn + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,345 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Corn starch
- Thickens the milk into a smooth, sliceable custard as it heats and cooks.
- Eggs
- Egg yolks enrich and set the custard; whites whipped into the meringue give it lift and structure.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard that the corn starch thickens.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and helps give the meringue stability.
- Jelly or jam
- Adds a fruity sweetness and layer between the custard and the meringue.
The step that matters
Cook the starch mixture while stirring constantly. Corn starch granules swell and thicken only when heated to a boil. Stirring keeps heat even and prevents lumps and scorching on the bottom of the pan.
“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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